Together
by TheRealMockingbird
Summary: 'He cleared his throat, the deep sound drawing Clarke's eyes back to the guard, taking in his dark hair brushed neatly back from his face, his dark brown eyes, and the many freckles dusting his defined face.' The story of how the two leaders came together over time. Slightly slow burn Bellarke, starting just before the 100 were sent to earth. Rated M to be safe. Not my characters.
1. Chapter 1

Octavia has been discovered and imprisoned, Bellamy's mother and Clarke's father have been floated, but Clarke's involvement in attempting to reveal that the oxygen is running out hasn't been discovered yet, so she's not in the sky box. Starting a bit before the 100 were sent to earth.

The siren flashed and the alarm sounded shrilly, alerting the guards to a disturbance in the mess hall. Bellamy was amongst the small group of armed guards running to the call. Since Octavia was discovered and his mother was floated for hiding her he had nothing to do but continue to rise through the ranks, going from cadet to guard in just a year.  
The small group of guards burst through the metal double doors to see a middle aged man standing on top of one of the long metal tables, leaning to one side drunkenly. He was waving a long, sharp shard of glass in his right hand, gripping it so hard that his palm had started to bleed. He was pointing the glass towards a small group of people huddled at the edge of the room. Bellamy glanced around, noticing the overturned chairs, broken glass and the remains of section 17's lunch littering the floor before taking a step forward, drawing the man's attention, and the point of the glass shard, towards him, and away from the innocent people.

'Sir, step down from the table.' His deep voice reverberated around the room, commanding attention.

'No. Make me.' Slurred the man, squinting at the fierce looking guard.

'Sir, I said get down from the table, now.' Bellamy took another step forward gesturing behind his back for the remaining guards to spread out.

The man lurched forward, almost tipping off the table and started waving the glass in Bellamy's face. Bellamy just stared back unblinkingly 'Last chance.' He said stonily.

The drunk man eyed up Bellamy before launching himself off the table, taking the two of them down to the floor. In seconds Bellamy had him face down on the floor with his arms pinned behind his back. Two other guards helped lift the man from the floor, handcuffing him and marching him grimly from the room, knowing full well what his fate would be.  
Bellamy winced as Miller caught his eye.  
'You better get to medical' he said mildly, eyeing the shard of glass protruding from Bellamy's shoulder, still smudged with the drunk man's blood at one end. Sighing, Bellamy nodded his head and reluctantly headed to the medical station.

Stepping inside the Ark's answer to a hospital Bellamy noticed a woman who looked to be around 40, with dark blonde hair, in a green uniform, tending to a young girl on one of the beds. 'Have a seat, I'll be with you in a minute' she said without looking up.

The material of the hospital bed crinkled as he sat down and he winced slightly as the throbbing in his shoulder intensified with the movement. But before he could dwell on it his attention was taken by the figure standing in the doorway. A young woman, Bellamy guessed around 20 years old, had entered the medical station, wearing the same uniform as the other medic. Her light blonde hair was twisted into a braid, a few pieces falling around her face and she was humming to herself.

'Clarke,' the older woman said in a surprised tone, still not looking up from her patient, 'you aren't due here for another 15 minutes.'

'I know, and yet here I am anyway.' Said the younger blonde teasingly. 'And just in time by the looks of things.' She nodded at Bellamy, catching his eye before walking to stand next to the bed.

'Well this is a first.' She said with the same teasing tone, eyeing the glass in the guards shoulder.

He cleared his throat, the deep sound drawing Clarke's eyes back to the guard, taking in his dark hair brushed neatly back from his face, his dark brown eyes, and the many freckles dusting his defined face. 'There was a disturbance in the mess hall, a man...drunk...moonshine probably.' He said carefully. Clarke's eyes narrowed. Nigel.

'I see,' said Clarke lightly, 'well you'll have to take off your guards jacket so I can get a proper look at the damage.'

He raised his eyebrows, about to question Clarke on how he was supposed to do that with the glass still in both his shoulder and his jacket, when she gripped the end of the shard with both hands and yanked it cleanly from his shoulder. He grunted in pain and surprise, moving to sit up straight, but found himself held still by two surprisingly strong hands.  
'Jacket.' She said firmly.

He shrugged out of the thick leather, wincing again at the jolt of pain through his shoulder. Clarke's hands pulled the jacket off the rest of the way and dropped it onto a chair next to the bed before moving to get a better look at the stab wound.

'You're going to need a couple of stitches I'm afraid.' She said checking Bellamy's shoulder. 'You'll have to take your shirt off, I wouldn't want to have to cut it.'

Bellamy raised his eyebrows at Clarke, who stared back blankly. 'Turn around' he clarified, making Clarke laugh.

'I've seen it all before' she said with a grin, but turned her back none the less. When she turned back around the guard was shirtless on the bed and she found her eyes drawn to his bare chest, and then lower, to his defined abs, before she realised what she was doing.

Quickly she turned around, preparing her surgical tray, getting ready to stitch the wound, and hiding the blush heating up her cheeks in the process.

Bellamy almost succeeded in hiding his smirk as he noticed Clarke's eyes wandering lower from his shoulder before she quickly turned around. When she turned back however, she was all business. Her small hands moved to numb, clean, and stitch up the wound and she was done in minutes. Bellamy took the short time to study Clarke whilst she worked, taking in her clear, fair skin dotted with beauty marks, and light blue eyes framed by long lashes.

'What's your name?' Clarke asked as she wiped the remaining blood from his shoulder.

'Bellamy Blake.' He said, looking up at her, and she noticed again the freckles that adorned his face, hundreds of them, sat on top of his tanned skin.

'Well, we're all done here Bellamy, the pain medication will wear off in a few hours and then you'll feel some discomfort in your shoulder for a few days, but unless there are any complications you shouldn't need to come back here.' Clarke said with a friendly smile.

'Thank you, Clarke.' Her name had never sounded as good as it did in his deep voice.

He pulled his top back over his head, wincing, so Clarke helped him back into his guard's jacket, which was difficult considering he towered above her when he stood up.

Clarke watched him as he walked from the medical station, not noticing her mother watching her in turn.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi Ren Renegade, thanks for my first review! For the purpose of this story, the council decided to spare Bellamy's life, even though he was old enough to be floated, because in light of the failing oxygen in the ark, they know they'll need as many trained guards as possible to deal with the chaos. Also, with his mother floated and his sister in the sky box the council reasoned that enough of a message had been sent in regards to following the laws.

The next time they met was at that year's Unity Day Party a few months later. Bellamy wasn't on guard duty but he found himself agreeing to meet a few of the other guards in the mess hall after the pageant, despite the bitter taste the words 'Unity Day Party' now left in his mouth.

When Bellamy entered the mess hall his eyes swept the crowds for Miller, Sterling and Connor. Instead he saw her standing against a wall talking to the older medic, a cup in her hand. Her medical uniform had been replaced with a simple but pretty brown dress that would bring out the blue of her eyes. She was gesturing and smiling and Bellamy was struck by a ridiculous urge to go and talk to her. He brushed it aside and turned to move away when Clarke saw him, even wearing a plain black t-shirt he managed to stand out from the crowd. She said something else to the woman with a smile, pushed herself off the wall and headed towards where he stood alone just inside the door.

'Bellamy Blake.' She said with a smile, leading him further into the room.

'Clarke...' He trailed off realising he didn't know her last name, flashing an easy smile in return.

'Griffin' she supplied, 'Clarke Griffin' and was surprised to see shutters come down over his face immediately. He looked down at her, any trace of a smile completely gone.

After a long pause he said in a tight voice 'That explains why you were in the medic station, you work for your mother.'

Clarke frowned, 'I work with her, not for.' Her brow furrowed deeper in confusion as she registered the anger in his eyes, not understanding his new hostility. 

There was another, longer pause, and Clarke could see the tension in Bellamy's taut jaw now too. 

'Well I'd better be going Princess,' he ground out coldly.

'You just got here.' she said in surprise.

'Lots of work to do.' And he quickly marched away from her back towards the doors he'd just come through, brushing his shoulder against hers as he did, leaving a shocked Clarke behind him.

She couldn't understand what had just happened. How much did a name affect someone? She had thought the guard was pleasant when she parched him up... And princess? What was that about?

Bellamy walked away struggling to control his anger. Griffin. Of course. Her family were practically royalty on the Ark, best friends with the Chancellor and his son. Not only was the system a flawed and biased one, biased towards her people, but she was best friends with the people responsible for floating his mother and imprisoning his sister.

He bumped into Miller and the rest of the guard just outside the door. 'Leaving already Blake?' Miller questioned, surprised.

'Too many privileged in there,' Clarke heard the sneer in Bellamy's deep voice from where she stood, 'I've got better things to do.'


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is really just to summarise the beginning events without just repeating the show, just to refresh anyone's memory.

Clarke lifted her head from her drawings at the sound of the door to her cell being opened. Armed guards entered and attempted to subdue her. She escaped, bolting from the room and was met by the sight of the rest of the 100 'juvenile delinquents' being led from the cells as well. Before panic could overwhelm her she heard her mother's voice calling her name. Abby Griffin explained that the 100 were being sent to the ground in a last ditch effort to save the lives of the people remaining on the dying Ark. Not that they knew it was dying, the council realised that Clarke knew of her father's discovery and threw her in solitary to prevent her from following in her father's footsteps and risk causing an Ark-wide panic.

After the drop ship landed successfully Clarke knew she had to focus her attention on getting the supplies from Mount Weather, just like her mother told her. She also worked on avoiding Wells and trying not to get herself killed. It turned out the last one was harder than she thought. Bellamy refused to help Clarke get everyone across to Mount Weather so she went with Finn, a boy who was arrested for wasting three months of oxygen on an unauthorised space walk, Jasper and Monty, who were arrested for taking herbs from agro station for…less than medical purposes, and Octavia, Bellamy's sister. But they had to return empty handed when Octavia was attacked by a mutated creature living in the water.

All the while, Bellamy Blake, the man she met in another life, back on the Ark, before her time in solitary, spent his time riling up the members of the 100 with his cries of 'whatever the hell we want.' With the help of his merry band of idiots, who followed his orders like puppets, he wielded control of the chaos.

'Whatever the hell we want' apparently included whichever girls Bellamy wanted to take back to his tent night after night.

Clarke refused to bow to him, she refused to be intimidated by the 'Rebel King'. Using their strange history to her advantage, she took him to save Jasper when he was captured by the Grounders on another trip to find resources. Clarke knew he had a gun from the Ark, and she had seen what was out there now.

What she didn't expect was for him to save her life.

They located the injured Jasper, strung up in a tree as bait but in her panic she didn't see the trap until it was too late. Before she fully knew what was happening, Bellamy's strong grip was keeping her from falling to her death. As she looked up at him she saw a spark of emotion in his eyes, a spark of fear, before he shut himself down again, helping the others to haul her back onto the ground without looking at her again.

When they returned to camp they went back to disliking each other. When Wells was killed, and Bellamy kicked the stool out from underneath Murphy, bowing to the pressure of a mob, Clarke was back to thinking she didn't know the former guard, and nor did she want to.

Until he tried to save Charlotte. She knew he blamed himself for Wells' death after he told Charlotte to 'slay her demons', and didn't want another of the 100's innocent blood on his hands. That was the night an agreement was made. They made the rules. Together.


	4. Chapter 4

They had been on the ground for over a week and a half, neither of them would admit it, but they grudgingly accepted the influence the other held.

They went together to the supply bunker Kane told them about over the comms, leaving Miller and Jasper in charge. Clarke told Bellamy she didn't want to be around anyone she actually liked, but that wasn't it. The truth was, Clarke was beginning to trust him. And she definitely didn't want to take Finn with her, not after she discovered the truth about him and Raven.

Bellamy went because he was planning to run.

The walk there was uneventful, they were both preoccupied with their own issues back at camp, so they didn't realise they were being followed.

When they got there, all they could find were blankets and empty storage containers. In frustration, Bellamy kicked over a barrel of grease and uncovered dozens of rifles, and for the first time since they had arrived she saw him smile. Not smirk, but smile.

He handed her one of the rifles, 'ready to be a bad ass Clarke?' She lifted an eyebrow in surprise. It wasn't often that Bellamy addressed her by her first name.

'I hold it here?' She questioned him, lifting it to her shoulder, the gun felt heavy and awkward in her hands.

Bellamy moved to stand behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, directing her, but he stopped when he felt the heat from her back warming his hand, frowning at how the simple action had affected him.

They each took a shot, disappointed to find that some of the bullets were duds. 'I need some air.' Bellamy muttered, turning and walking stiffly back up the steps into the bunker.

Clarke shrugged and remained where she was, too caught up in uncovering what the bunker held to hear Dax, a member of the 100 who was locked up for murdering a man who stole from him, approaching. By the time she realised he was behind her it was too late, pain explode at the back of her head, and she dropped to the floor unconscious.

Dax returned above ground to find Bellamy and complete the task officer Shumway had given him – kill Bellamy Blake before word got out about his involvement in the attempted assassination of Chancellor Jaha.

When Clarke came to she realised Bellamy was still outside. She staggered out of the bunker to see Dax sat over Bellamy, raining blows down on him.

'Get off of him' she cried, launching herself at the boy.

Whilst Dax was distracted defending himself against Clarke, Bellamy searched desperately, before reaching for a bullet forgotten on the ground, wincing as the bastard threw his elbow into Clarke's stomach and she cried out, curled on the floor. Without any more hesitation Bellamy plunged the bullet into Dax's neck, and watched the life drain from him. Bellamy was no stranger to cruelty after life on the Ark, but this was the first person he'd, successfully, murdered in cold blood. The knowledge made him feel nauseous.

Clarke crawled backwards until she reached a think tree and leant against it, Bellamy staggered to her, placing a hand on her knee as he sunk against the bark next to her.  
'You're ok' she panted, trying to ignore the pressure of Bellamy's large hand, and the warmth of his palm on her leg.  
'No, I'm not...my mother...if she knew what I've done...who I am...she raised me to be better, to be good.' Bellamy stumbled over his words as he felt his eyes begin to sting.  
Clarke stiffened in surprise at such a display of humanity.  
'Bellamy' she said softly, placing her hand on top of his on her leg.  
''And all I do is hurt people. I'm a monster.' Clarke had never heard Bellamy talk like this, had never heard him sound so defeated. He was always so confident, so self-assured.  
'Hey.' Interrupted Clarke, 'You saved my life today. You may be a total ass half the time, but I need you.' Bellamy raised his head and his dark eyes found Clarke's blue ones. She needed him? 'We all need you. None of us would have survived this place if it wasn't for you.'

Bellamy looked away again in disagreement.  
'You want forgiveness? Fine, I'll give it to you, you're forgiven ok.' His eyes found hers once more, needing to see her, needed to believe her. 'But you can't run Bellamy, you have to come back with me.' Again, go back with her? Suddenly Bellamy was transported back to that date almost a year and a half ago, in the medic station. He could see the same concern in Clarke's eyes, and the same determination to fix whatever was wrong. Because that was Clarke, she always wanted to help everyone, even though he'd done nothing to deserve her concern. 'You have to face it'.

'Like you faced your mom?' He asked quietly, watching her until she looked away and let out a humourless laugh.

'You're right' she said, facing him again, 'I don't want to face my mom, I don't want to face any of it...all I think about every day is how we're going to keep everyone alive. But we don't have a choice.'

Bellamy sniffed, blinking his unshed tears away. 'Jaha will kill me when he comes down.' He said finally, voicing the fear that had been plaguing him since he made the deal to get on the drop ship.

'We'll figure something out' promised Clarke with so much determination in her voice that Bellamy found himself believing her, found himself calmed.

'Can we figure it out later?' He asked, leaning his head back against the tree. Clarke mimicked his actions, 'whenever you're ready' she breathed, before lifting her hand from on top of Bellamy's. Before she could pull away Bellamy captured her hand again, threading her fingers through his and gently squeezed her hand. Together they sat, side by side, as partners, and Bellamy knew he was going back to camp with her.

Later that night Bellamy found himself sat next to Clarke in front of the communication screen Raven and Monty had managed to build, waiting to talk to Jaha. He wasn't even aware of his left leg shaking, being too caught up in his thoughts, until he felt Clarke gently place her hand above his knee, stilling the movement.  
'It's going to be ok, I promise.' She looked at him, her eyes showing no fear, no doubt, making him feel slightly better.  
Just then the Chancellor took his seat in front of the camera on the Ark and Bellamy felt his stomach drop, he reached for Clarke's hand on his leg and gripped it tightly, relieved when she threaded their fingers together again, and couldn't help but notice how well their hands fit together.

'Mr Blake,' Jaha began, his voice commanding, 'I've wanted to talk to you for some time now.'  
Bellamy opened his mouth to talk but Clarke got there first.  
'Before you do, I-I'd like to say something.' Bellamy stared at her as she talked, surprised. 'When you sent us down here, you sent us to die. But miraculously, most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him, because of Bellamy' she said, turning to find him already looking at her. Their eyes met and Bellamy saw her ever present determination once more. 'He's one of us,' she stated, 'and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes, just like the rest of us.'  
Bellamy rubbed his thumb across the back of Clarke's hand in thanks. He couldn't believe the girl he thought was nothing more than a privileged princess was wasting her time trying to save his life, couldn't believe she thought he was worthy.

'Clarke, I appreciate your point of view, but it's not that simple.' Jaha said slowly, but instead of feeling all the hope he had allow to build fade to nothing, Bellamy spoke up, allowing Clarke to restore his courage, taking strength from her small hand, covered by his.

'It is,' he told Jaha, 'if you want to know who on the Ark wants you dead.'  
There was a long pause, Bellamy and Clarke's eyes finding each other's once again, reassuring each other whilst Jaha considered the information Bellamy was offering. Clarke squeezed his hand tighter, the only sign that she was worried, and Bellamy brushed his thumb across her knuckle in response.

'Bellamy Blake,' said Jaha eventually, 'you are pardoned for your crimes.' Neither of the pair could hide their relieved smiles at the words. 'Now tell me who gave you the gun.' Instructed Jaha. Bellamy complied, feeling the relief of the situation wash over him.


	5. Chapter 5

Please review guys!

Clarke smiled to herself as she walked past the remaining 100 toward Bellamy, who was standing alone, watching over everyone. She could help but think that something in their relationship had changed since Jaha pardoned Bellamy, they trusted each other, they knew each other. Today was unity day and the Ark had been transmitting the celebrations to the 100, but something had gone wrong and the signal had been lost.

'Hey, the comms are still dead' she said as she reached him, 'they cut out during the pageant.'

'Best unity day ever.' Bellamy said dryly, his eyes filled with mirth and a grin tugging at his lips.

Clarke hesitated, 'do you really think now is a good time to be having a party?' she asked sounding a little worried, her serious nature shining through in a way that used to irritate Bellamy but now he found...endearing? 'I mean, the grounder is out there.'

She was referring to Lincoln, the grounder who had saved Octavia's life and taken her to his cave, where they found her and took both O and the grounder back to the camp. He had been freed the day before, they both suspected Octavia of course, but the damage had already been done.

'Grounders,' Bellamy corrected lightly, 'by now he's made it home, he's probably putting together a lynch mob.' Clarke's eyebrows knitted together as she looked up at him. 'Relax,' he reached out and brushed the top of her arm before stuffing his hand back in his jacket pocket, 'I've got security covered.' She looked up and found the reassurance in his expression calmed her. 'Why don't you go get a drink? You look like you could use one.' He said lightly, and she laughed.

'I could use more than one.' She sighed, her lips parted in a grin.

Bellamy grinned back down at her 'then have more than one.' Making her laugh again. She didn't laugh enough, Bellamy realised, and it was a shame, because he liked the sound. 'Clarke, the exodus ship carrying your mother comes down here in two days. After that, the party's over. Have some fun while you still can. You deserve it.'

Bellamy couldn't help but smile as he watched the blonde mull his idea over before smiling widely in return. 'Yeah, ok' she said, before turning and heading back to the rest of the group, his eyes following her the whole way, a lingering smile softening his face.

Alone again Bellamy contemplated how, in such a short amount of time, their relationship had shifted so dramatically. He had gone from wishing the princess had never come down to earth, to trusting her, and grudgingly admitting that the camp needed her.

~

Later than night Clarke caught up to Bellamy. 'I need to talk to you.'

Bellamy's eyes travelled from her windswept hair to the flush in Clarke's cheeks, settling on her bright eyes, 'you having fun yet princess?'

Somehow she had gone from hating it when he called her that, to...not hating it. 'I'm serious.' She said, brushing the feeling aside, chalking it up to Monty and Jasper's lethal moonshine that she had definitely had more than two drinks of.

'You always are,' he said teasingly, 'so talk.'

'Finn's set up a meeting with the grounders.' Clarke said, and just like that, with the mention of Finn, Bellamy's relaxed, smiling face was gone, his hard, familiar expression sliding back into place, and Clarke found she immediately missed his wide, relaxed smile.

Bellamy was against the idea before Clarke revealed the main reason she was talking to Bellamy about it, to get him to bring back up to the meeting. The thing that really intrigued Bellamy was the confession that Finn didn't know she was coming to him. Clarke trusted Bellamy over Finn, and for some reason that made his heart soar.

'And Bellamy,' Clarke said looking at him, snapping his attention back, 'bring guns.'

Bellamy nodded his agreement. He still didn't trust the grounders, and he wasn't about to risk Clarke's life to find out he was right.


	6. Chapter 6

Bellamy had been right.

'Grounder princess looks pissed.' Remarked Raven mildly.

'Our princess has that effect.' Replied Bellamy, watching the scene on the bridge unfold through the scope of his rifle from their position on the ground. Octavia had gone with them and he understood why, struggling to suppress his anger, when Lincoln jogged out of the woods and across the bridge to join her. It didn't help that at the sight of the grounders following him, Finn entwined his and Clarke's hands, taking a step forward.

The female grounder sent to represent their people not only brought weapons with her, violating the terms Finn had sent, but she had positioned more armed grounders in the trees. Monty saw them first and panicked, firing before the grounders could attack. He took out a few before the spears and arrows started launching towards Clarke, Finn, Octavia and Lincoln. Looking through the scope of his rifle Bellamy saw the woman unsheathe a knife concealed in the forearm of her furs and raise it to attack Clarke. Bellamy fired a shot quickly, hitting the grounder's arm before she could bring the knife down. Clarke's head whipped round and she caught sight of Bellamy. He had saved her life, again.

A few days later cries and shouts alerted the two leaders that something was wrong. Bellamy burst into the drop ship to find Clarke kneeling in front of Murphy.

'Bellamy stay back.' Clarke cried, raising her arm, palm outstretched, and stopping him in his tracks.

'Did he do something to you?' Bellamy asked before he stop himself, eyes wide with worry.

Clarke shook her head as Bellamy surveyed the drop ship. The first thing he noticed was the two who had found Murphy just outside the gate were lying down, the second thing was the blood.

'What the hell is this?' He turned to Clarke. And her answer sent a chill down his spine.

'Biological warfare.'

The camp was thrown into panic and as the day dragged on more and more people were taken to the drop ship. Clarke was with Raven in what had quickly become her work tent, working on their plan to halt the attack Lincoln had warned them was following the virus Murphy had brought in to camp. They were going to build a bomb and blow the bridge the grounders had to cross to get to the camp.

'I'm sorry about your mom.' The mechanic said softly. Clarke felt her eyes prick and two tears fall down her cheeks, but Raven's horrified expression told her something was wrong. Brushing her tears away Clarke's stomach dropped when her hands came away covered in blood.

Later Finn came rushing in to the drop ship, heading to where Clarke was stood in the drop ship, still trying to help everyone else, 'I heard you were sick'.

Bellamy, who was stood as close as Clarke would allow him, clenched his jaw so hard he thought he'd crack a tooth. He was relieved when he saw Clarke quickly turn away from Finn's worried stare back to Murphy, but didn't allow himself to dwell on why.

By mid-afternoon half the camp was in quarantine and hysteria started to break out. Bellamy and Finn struggled to subdue the crowds of people trying to escape from the rapidly growing number of people coughing up blood when two shots rang out, silencing the camp.

Clarke stood, gun in hand, reminding the 100 that they were doing what the grounders wanted. She looked exhausted and Bellamy continued to eye the group, the palpable tension setting him on edge.

One boy stepped forward, Bellamy saw he was armed and broke out of the crowd, moving towards him.

'They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus, get back in the damn drop ship.' He yelled lifting his gun to point at her. Suddenly Bellamy was there, knocking the guy back and pulling the gun from his hands. He'd never moved so fast, he just saw the gun pointed at Clarke and reacted. Clarke glanced at him gratefully before she felt the ground shift beneath her feet and she was falling, before she hit the ground strong arms caught her and lifted her, bridal style. She opened her eyes to see Bellamy carrying her back into the drop ship.

The only other person he protected this way was Octavia.

When Clarke came round she knew the virus had left her body, she felt exhausted, but the fever was gone. Swinging her legs from the hammock her eyes were immediately drawn to Bellamy, sat on one of the makeshift beds, eyeing Murphy and the water he held mistrustfully.

Bellamy saw Clarke appear next to Murphy. 'Hey I got this one' she said, taking the water from Murphy's hands she lowered herself next to Bellamy. She took in his tired eyes, the sheen of sweat on his forehead and the blood around his mouth with concern, she had hoped he was immune. She knew she couldn't look much better but she was terrified by how bad Bellamy looked, terrified at the idea of losing him.

'Here,' she placed her hand on his back and handed him the water. As he took it from her, their fingers brushed against each other and he looked at her. Clarke realised how close together they were sat, she could feel the heat radiating from him and see every freckle standing out against his skin, which was much paler than usual.

'You feeling better?' He asked softly, and she felt the vibration of his low voice through his back.

'Yeah' she breathed a sigh.

'That's good.' he said with a small, almost shy smile, which she returned. 'Have you seen Octavia?'

'She was up all night helping people, Murphy gave her a break.' At the mention of Murphy Bellamy's face clouded over again, mistrust settling in the hard lines of his jaw and his cheekbones.

'Don't tell me you trust him now.' He said in a low voice, smiling humourlessly.

'Trust? No. I do believe in second chances though' replied Clarke, looking him in the eye, and Bellamy thought of their first few encounters, how much had changed since then, and realised she had given him a second chance too, changing her opinions, just as he had done with her.

All too soon they had to start preparing the camp in case of the grounder attack Lincoln had said was coming at first light. Sliding back into being co-leaders, they waited anxiously to see if their plan - blow up the bridge, delay the attack - would work.

At the sound of the explosion everyone they were herding into the drop ship stopped and stared at the rapidly growing dark cloud in the sky. Jasper had made the shot. Their plan had worked - the bridge was gone.

'They did it' Clarke breathed, she felt the relief rolling off Bellamy and couldn't help but smile when she felt his hand fall on her shoulder and squeeze lightly.

'I am become death, destroyer of words.' Clarke muttered. She tilted her head when she felt Bellamy looking at her, 'It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first-'

'I know who Oppenheimer is' Bellamy interrupted and she could hear the small smile in his voice. She had forgotten about his interest in history.

She placed her own hand over his and they stood for a while, together.


	7. Chapter 7

After the successful bombing of the bridge, the camp had started to relax, they turned their attention to preserving the meat they had hunted. Murphy and Octavia were assigned to smoking it, and the next thing Bellamy knew the whole hut holding all their food was on fire. Murphy blamed the other camp member working there with him, said he didn't like taking Octavia's orders.

With no food Clarke made the decision to send groups out to hunt. Bellamy took Clarke aside and pointed out that the grounders would still attack, and now they didn't know when.

'We can't defend the camp if we're starving' she said firmly, and he knew that if he couldn't change her mind then he'd have to go with her.

Before he could though, Clarke had been snagged by a young camp mate called Myles, followed, of course, by Finn.

Bellamy was no fool, the day Raven arrived he knew something had happened, and it didn't take long to realise what the tension between the Finn, Clarke and Raven was. Bellamy told himself that the bitter taste the knowledge left in his mouth was because Clarke had been hurt, and he had grown to care about her, nothing more.

*

Clarke and Finn hadn't returned from their hunt yet, and Bellamy was starting to worry. He walked into his tent and came to an abrupt halt when he caught sight of Raven.

'What are you doing in here?' He asked brusquely.

'They don't waste time I'll give them that.' She said, attempting a breezy tone but not quite succeeding, the statement coming out bitter instead. 'What's it been? Day and a half?'

'You've mistaken me for someone who cares.' Bellamy lied. 'Time to move on.' He said brusquely, he just wasn't sure who he was addressing.

Bellamy took off his jacket and Raven dropped herself onto his bed and started to take off her shoes, face drawn into an indifferent mask.

'What are you doing?' Asked Bellamy cautiously.

'Moving on'

She removed the rest of her clothes, leaving just her underwear and her thin top. Standing in front of Bellamy he saw some of the mask fade. 'I've never been with anyone but Finn' she confessed, pausing to compose herself. 'Take off your clothes.'

Bellamy shifted his weight, sizing up the woman in front of him, trying not to think, and especially not about Clarke.

'Fine, I'll go first.' Said Raven, pulling her top over her head and staring at him defiantly, daring him to look away.

Bellamy took a deep breath, conflicted. Clarke still had feelings for Finn, Finn still had feelings for Clarke. Bellamy had a beautiful woman in his tent.

'If you're looking for someone to talk you down, tell you that you're just upset and not thinking straight, I'm not that guy.'

This was familiar for Bellamy. This was what he was used to. Meaningless hook ups with pretty girls, not worrying that Clarke wasn't back.

'Good' said Raven, pulling Bellamy into a rushed kiss. And then their hands were moving and their clothes were off, Bellamy lifted Raven, almost mechanically, moving her onto her back on the bed, the whole while telling himself that this was what he preferred, what he wanted, this was simpler…

Later, when Raven rolled out of the bed and began dressing Bellamy pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. 'Did that help?' He asked her, already knowing the answer.

'Nope.' She said, leaving his tent, and Bellamy knew he felt the same way.


	8. Chapter 8

Shout out to my South African readers! My mum was born outside of Pretoria and lived in Joburg before she met my dad.

*the parts in italics are flash backs to the events of episode 11*

'It's Clarke and Finn' one of the boys on lookout yelled, and Bellamy almost sank to the floor in relief.

 _The previous evening Bellamy knew his emotions had gotten the better of him. He knew it as he yelled at Sterling for falling asleep at his post, yelled at everyone about the grounders. He was scared, and Octavia had been right, he was scaring the rest of the camp. He had gone to the drop ship to calm down but Jasper had come in and made him feel like even more of a failure for not going after Clarke immediately, the way he had Octavia. This was different though, they were constantly at risk from the grounders and the 100 were his responsibility now, and no matter how desperately he wanted to find Clarke, he couldn't risk anybody else leaving camp._

 _Bellamy was also struggling with the guilt of what happened with Raven. He knew it made no sense, Clarke still loved Finn, but he couldn't help it._

 _Before he even had time to gather his thoughts Bellamy realised that danger wasn't just outside the camp. Murphy had taken Jasper hostage inside the drop ship and Bellamy knew he had been right to trust his instinct on the boy, and regretted not keeping a closer eye on him. Worrying for Clarke was causing him to get distracted. Without hesitation Bellamy offered himself up in Jasper's place, knowing exactly what Murphy wanted – revenge for what had happened to him before he was exiled from camp._

Bellamy turned to look at Clarke now, all thoughts of the last 12 hours quietening as he took her in, she was cut up, reminders of what the grounders could do, and she looked exhausted, but her eyes were determined.

She wanted them to leave camp, to run. She had gotten word from Lincoln - the grounders were coming that night, an army bigger than anything they had ever seen, bigger than anything they had prepared for. Bellamy thought back to that afternoon again.

 _'I think the princess is dead,' Murphy had said callously._

 _'No', thought Bellamy desperately 'no'. The thought chilled him and he had to struggle to keep his face neutral, giving nothing away. The make shift noose Murphy had forced him to tie and secure tightened around his neck as the unstable boy tugged on the other end of it._

 _'And I think the king's about to die, so who's going to lead these people huh? Me, that's who. And yeah maybe I'll have to kill your grounder pounding little sister'. Rage shot through Bellamy, hot and wild and he lunged for Murphy, ignoring the tightening of the noose. Murphy pulled the end of the noose again, forcing him almost off the stool he was standing on as he heard a muffled shriek from underneath the drop ship, where Raven was trying to find a way to open the door and rescue him. Murphy shot at the floor wildly, wasting their ammunition, Bellamy noted with dismay._

 _Murphy's gun jammed, the sudden silence deafening in the drop ship, but before Bellamy could free himself Murphy had kicked the stool from underneath him. Choking, Bellamy fought desperately but her felt his mind beginning to cloud, all he could think was how he had failed. Clarke was dead, Octavia was going to die, so was he. He struggled whilst Murphy slammed his rifle into Bellamy's middle, knocking the rest of the air out his lungs and winding him._

 _The sound of the drop ship door opening scared Murphy up the ladder but Bellamy could already feel what was left of his energy draining as he struggled to breathe. He vaguely felt Jasper wrap his arms around his legs to take his weight, freeing his throat, and then the noose was gone and he was lying on the floor gasping for air._

They couldn't leave, they had worked so hard on all of this, how could she want them to leave? They were all scared, but they could fight.

 _As he felt life flow back into him he lifted himself off he floor. 'Murphy' he roared. Bellamy would not give that weasel the satisfaction of killing him. 'Murphy, it's over' Bellamy bellowed, wrenching at the door to the second level. An explosion shook the drop ship and by the time Bellamy had gotten the hatch open, Murphy had gone - blown a whole in the side of the drop ship and wasted what was left of their gunpowder._

Bellamy struggled to hide his confusion and frustration as the remaining 100 followed Clarke, preparing to leave the camp. He had tried to convince them that staying was their best option, but Clarke was too persuasive, they loved her, he noted dimly.

He reached for her arm, pulling her back towards him, 'Clarke,' he started, still holding her arm, 'leaving here is a mistake.'

'The decision's been made.' She said firmly, looking at him apologetically, but he knew she wouldn't back down.

'Crowds make bad decisions. Just ask Murphy. Leaders do what they think is right.' Listen to me, he begged silently, we can do this, together.

'I am.' Clarke breathed, gently removing herself from Bellamy's grip and heading for the drop ship.

Bellamy thought back to what Jasper had said when he had hugged him after everything was over and Murphy had run. He thanked him for saving his life: _'A long way from 'whatever the hell we want' he had said._ Jasper was right, Bellamy had changed since they arrived on earth, hell he had changed from the person he was on the Ark, the person who had judged Clarke Griffin as nothing more than a princess, when truly, she was so much more than that.

Bellamy turned and entered the drop ship after her. He was tense and the sight of Finn standing with Clarke, discussing how they could move Raven, who had been hit by one of Murphy's bullets, was enough to force out all the pent up emotion the day had left him with. As Finn left the drop ship Bellamy called lowly 'can't run away fast enough huh? Real brave.' Finn spun around and Clarke's back stiffened.

'Dying in a fight you can't win isn't brave Bellamy, it's stupid.' Said Finn tightly, walking towards him.

'Spoken like every coward who's ever run from a fight.' Bellamy stepped towards Finn, closing the gap until they were practically eye to eye, staring the other down. Bellamy could see in Finn's eyes that he knew that this was about more than just the grounders, somehow this had become about Clarke too.

'That's enough.' She said, talking hold of Bellamy by the arm and pushing him backwards towards the back of the drop ship.

'Look we're wasting time,' snapped Finn, marching back out into the camp, 'if he wants to stay, he can stay.'

'No, he can't,' Clarke called after him, leaving Bellamy to wonder why those three words meant so much to him. Bellamy was staring at the floor, posture stiff and angry. Clarke took a small step closer to him, and lifted out a hand, placing it on his face. Bellamy's eyes snapped up to meet hers, his breath catching at the warmth of her palm on his jaw, her fingertips in his hair. 'We can't do this without you Bellamy.' She breathed.

'What do you want me to say Clarke?' He said harshly, regretting it when he felt her hand drop from his face.

'I want you to say that you're with us.' With me, thought Clarke. 'Those kids out there, they listen to you.' She stretched out her hand and brushed her fingers against Bellamy's softly.

'They're lining up to go,' he was unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. 'They listen to you more.'

Clarke threaded their fingers together and took another step forwards, until there were only a few centimetres between them.

'I gave them an easy choice, but five minutes ago they were willing to fight and die for you.' Clarke's voice was passionate. 'You inspire them.' She looked up at him beseechingly. 'And I'm afraid we're gonna need that again before this day is through.'

Bellamy sighed, but squeezed Clarke's fingers lightly in response, the small action filling her with hope. She stepped back and gave him one last look before heading back into the camp to help prepare to leave.

*

They were ready within half an hour, and Clarke pushed down the fear that Bellamy wouldn't come with her as she moved people out. She couldn't help but scan the group for him and audibly sighed with relief when she saw the back of his head, saw he had brought weapons and realised he was coming with them. He was facing the drop ship, but when he turned she could see his messy hair, his face streaked with sweat and grime, and she had never been happier to see him.

Waiting until everyone had left the camp she walked to where he stood, next to the dying fire. His face was tense with worry and she could see regret in his eyes. Clarke knew Bellamy blamed himself for a lot of the things that had gone wrong here, honestly he probably blamed himself for all of them. Yes, he had made mistakes, but so had she, and he had always tried to do right, especially by the people he loved.

She stood in front of him, trying to catch his eye.

'You did good here Bellamy.'

'18 dead.' He said, looking away, in the direction of the graves, and she knew she had been right.

'82 alive'. She corrected him firmly, placing her hand on his arm before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. He hesitated a moment before securing his arms around her waist and dropping his head into her neck.

'You did good.' she whispered to him again and felt him tighten his grip and sigh, her stomach flipped in response but she pushed it aside. Now was not the time.

He pulled away and nodded, before lifting the container of rain water they had collected and putting out the remaining fire. Clarke's eyes were drawn to the muscles in his arms and across his back as they tensed at the movement.

He turned to her, surrounded by the clear white smoke that had jumped up from the extinguished fire and her breathe caught at the sight. He looked so fierce, so determined and she knew that, although she had been wrong to trust Finn the way she had, she had been right to put her trust in Bellamy.

Without another word they walked out of the camp and into the forest, together.


	9. Chapter 9

*Shout out to my Italian readers! I spent two months travelling Italy as part of my gap year and I'm taking a year out from Uni to live in beautiful Venice the year after next – thanks for reading! Please review*

The remaining 100 trekked solemnly through the forest, Octavia and Jasper up front, Bellamy and Clarke bringing up the rear, Finn carrying the injured Raven on a stretcher somewhere in the middle of the group. A stray bullet from Murphy's gun was still lodged by her spine and Clarke knew that they couldn't risk it moving any more, there was no telling the damage it could do.

Clarke could hear a few muffled conversations but mostly everybody was too focused on scanning the tree line for grounder movement. They had been walking for about ten minutes, Clarke praying the whole time that she had made the right decision, when she heard the frightened cries rippling through the group and then Jasper's shout. Grounders. Someone had been hit.

She turned to Bellamy by her side, terrified she had sentenced them all to death and saw the conflict in his dark eyes. She made a decision.

They returned to camp, bringing with them the body of the most recent member of the 100 to fall, the heavy blade still buried deep in his skull. 19 dead, and this one was on Clarke.

They closed the gates and Clarke's head whipped around searching for Bellamy, before following him up to the lookout post closest to the gate, where he stood scanning the forest for any more signs of grounders.

'We're too late,' she thought desperately, 'we're too late.'

Below them voices started to swell, Octavia and Finn wanted to go back out there and face the grounders head on. Lincoln had told them that the grounders would send scouts first, and they argued that they could take the scouts, looking to her to order them to go back out, to follow the original plan and head to the sea, but she couldn't. Lincoln had warned her and Finn about the grounder attack, he had hoped it would be enough to save them, but they were too late.

With everyone looking to them for guidance where they stood, side by side, light blue eyes met dark brown and Clarke felt the rest of the camp fade away until it was just the two of them. Bellamy's expression was calm, 'looking at you Princess,' he murmured, 'what's it gonna be? Run and get picked off out in the open, or stand and fight back?'

He was still calling her princess - he still trusted her. She felt her heart lift as she jumped down from the platform. Finn grabbed her arm and she turned to him, causing Bellamy to clench his jaw as he jumped down as well.

'Clarke, if we're still here when Tristan gets here...'

'Lincoln said scouts,' Clarke's voice was clear as she addressed him, 'more than one. He said to go before the scouts arrive. Finn they're already here.' Clarke had made her decision, Bellamy had been right, she should have trusted his judgement when it came to battle.

She turned to him now, 'looks like you've got your fight.' Bellamy looked at her carefully, reading her expression for a moment, before he turned to the rest of the camp, satisfied that Clarke had put her trust in him now, and began preparing the 81 for the attack.

After everyone had been armed and were ready to move, clear on their instructions, Clarke, Bellamy, Raven and Finn convened around a detailed model camp that Bellamy had constructed in the drop ship.

He stood, muscles taught, explaining the work that he and Raven had done whilst Clarke and Finn were held by the grounders, first pointing out the positions of the landmines Raven had built and he had buried in the valley between the forest and their camp. Raven explained that they didn't have many bullets thanks to Murphy using the last of their gunpowder to escape the camp after his failed revenge plot, but she and Monty had built radios so they could at least talk to each other, try and coordinate their attacks.

Bellamy had just moved on to telling the others about the grenades Raven had built using the left over gunpowder when Finn's voice filled the drop ship. 'There's not enough.'

'Again,' said Raven drily, 'thank you Murphy.'

'It just has to keep them out, send them back, bide us time.' Bellamy said tightly.

'That's all you ever do,' said Finn in frustration, 'push them back just enough.'

'If you have any other suggestions I'm all ears.' Snarled Bellamy, but before it could escalate a soft voice drew both of their attention.

'It can't be that simple…' Clarke's expression was distant as Bellamy's eyes slid to her face, finding her deep in concentration. He could almost hear her thinking, creating a plan, and had to hold back a grin as her eyes met his and he recognised the look in them. She had something.

'Raven, you said that there were gallons of rocket fuel under the drop ship, right? Enough to make a hundred bombs?'

'Yes, but we don't have enough gunpowder anymore.' Raven's tone was dejected.

'What if I don't want to make a bomb, what if I want to take off?' Clarke's whole body was practically humming with excitement as the plan came together.

'Draw them in close and create a ring of fire…' mused the mechanic, 'that just might work.'

'Barbecued Grounders, I like it.' Said Bellamy, half a smile on his tired face to match Clarke's grin. She could save them.

Just like that they had a plan - use the drop ship, fire the engines and burn the attacking grounders. It pained Clarke to orchestrate so much death, but if it saved their lives then it had to be worth it, no matter the cost.

Clarke felt Bellamy's warm palm against her lower back with a tingle. 'Come with me' he murmured, making her shiver. She followed him out of the drop ship and when they had put enough distance between them and the rest of the campmates Bellamy stopped abruptly, causing Clarke to knock into him. He tried to ignore the way her hands came up to brace herself, pressing against his back.

As he turned to face her Clarke saw the tension in his face and automatically reached for him, resting her small hand on the curve of his bicep, it was funny how quickly that had become natural to her.

'Hey, this is going to work.'

Bellamy almost smiled, here she was trying to comfort him, again. It was her strength that made him realise he had to do this.

'Clarke,' his voice was low and unsteady, his dark eyes intense 'I owe you an explanation.' She raised her eyebrows, surprised. 'Back on the Ark…I let prejudices get the better of me, I judged you unfairly based on what I thought I knew about you and your family and that was wrong, I was wrong. I'm sorry.' 

'Bellamy.' Clarke's voice was heavy with emotion.

Bellamy reached out a hand and running a strand of her hair through his fingers, his tanned skin contrasting, making her hair look like it was spun from gold. He fixed his gaze on the sight, afraid to look at her. 'I should have trusted how I felt about you when you were patching me up.'

Clarke swallowed thickly, stomach fluttering, but she could ask him how he felt, a young boy, Newman, she thought he was called, ran up to them. Bellamy dropped his hand and they turned to look at the panting boy.

'The West fox hill just radioed,' he gasped breathlessly, 'they said there's movement in the trees, Jasper said to get you.'

Bellamy was torn as Clarke looked up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. 'Go.' She said softly with a sad smile, 'I'll see you later.' But it was prayer, not a promise she uttered.

He pulled her into a tight hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head so quickly and so gently she thought she might just have imagined it, and then he was gone and she was walking back to the drop ship to help Raven, slow tears falling silently down her face. Hesitating a moment outside to gain her composure, Clarke took a deep breath before steeling herself and pushing through the material at the entrance, letting it fall closed behind her as Raven glanced up with a grim smile.

'Let's do this.'

The battle was awful. Bloody, and terrifying, and as she closed the doors to drop ship, Miller pulling her further inside, the last thing she saw over her shoulder, blurry through the tears from the sobs that wracked her body, was Bellamy being attacked by Tristan, and Finn trying to help.

Just like that, she had lost the boy she loved.


	10. Chapter 10

Clarke awoke with a start. Harsh, violent images of a battle flashed in her head, accompanied by such an aggressive fear that she broke out in a cold sweat, before her body was wracked with such an acute sense of loss, making her heart ache and her hands tremble. She remembered a battle, a fog of red, green lasers and men in suits. She remembered Miller shouting at her that she couldn't save everyone. She remembered closing the drop ship door.

She looked around the stark white hospital room she was in, the material of her hospital gown crinkling against the plastic of the bed she lay on, and one thought echoed around her head.

'Bellamy.'

This thought was followed closely by 'Where the hell am I, and how do I get out?' 

The next few days revealed that she was inside Mount Weather, along with some 40 or so of the remaining 100 who had survived the grounders, including Jasper, Monty and Miller. Bellamy, Finn, Raven and Octavia were nowhere to be the found, the knowledge causing an impossible ache to settle around Clarke's heart.

They were fed and watered and incorporated into life in the mountain. But Clarke didn't trust the mountain men, too much didn't add up, like how they were given maps in the first few days, but the maps had no entrances or exits on them.

Clarke had learnt to trust her instinct from her time on the ground, and her instinct was telling her that something was very wrong, it was telling her to run, to escape. She couldn't convince Jasper of the same though, he was too distracted by the illusion of safety and by Maya, one of the inhabitants of Mt Weather, and Monty was reluctant to leave the closest thing he had to a brother, so Clarke was left to find out what was going on by herself.

The next day she found, and broke into, the chamber holding hundreds of caged grounders and she knew she had been right. The grounders were being drained for their blood, blood that had mutated to be resistant to the radiation left on the planet, blood that the people in Mount Weather needed to survive. Even worse, the head doctor in Mt Weather had revealed that the inhabitants of the Ark's blood was further mutated than that of the grounders because of the effects in radiation in space. Clarke knew that this meant her friends were even more at risk than the grounders were, and she needed to save them.

And so, the next day, promising her friends she'd come back for them, she escaped from Mount Weather, taking Anya, the grounder representative she had encountered on the bridge for Finn's peace talks what felt like years ago.

The next few days were some of the worst of Clarke's life. She and Anya had almost been captured again by the mountain men in the tunnels underneath the mountain, they had been forced to run from reaper, risk their lives jumping from the mountain into the river below, before Anya had attacked her, binding her hands together and dragging her for miles, and throughout the whole while the mountain men were just one step behind them. Anya attempted to disguise them and their tracks, confused as to why they were still being followed, until Clarke realised that they were being electronically tracked. Anya found the tracker in her forearm and before Clarke could plan on removing it she had bent her head down and ripped the tracker from her arm with her teeth.

'I will not go back there.' She said lowly.

With the tracker gone they managed to shake the mountain men and Clarke could plan her escape. They returned to the old camp and the drop ship and Clarke launched herself at Anya, fighting wildly until Clarke sat on top on Anya, knife pressed to her throat, but she would not kill her, she needed her.

'We're going to find the rest of my people.' Clarke's eyes dared Anya to argue, but she was Clarke's captive now.

Finally, after another full day of walking, Clarke managed to get to Camp Jaha, and had finally persuaded Anya promising to get her an audience with her commander. Clarke allowed herself to feel hopefully for the first time in weeks, maybe she had a way to stop all the bloodshed.

She smiled a small smile, watching as Anya walked away from camp and towards their chance of peace, before a shot rang out, echoing through the woods. Anya crumpled to the ground, she had been shot by the sky people. Clarke felt an explosion of pain in her arm, distantly noting that she had been shot as well as she ran towards where Anya had fallen.

'No, Anya, NO.' She screamed, but there was too much blood, even with Clarke applying pressure Anya's eyes started losing focus, she spoke her final words in Trigedasleng before they drifted shut. Just like that Clarke saw their chance at peace die before her eyes and felt the small flicker of hope fade to nothing.

She heard voices and movement approaching her from behind but she could barely bring herself to look up from Anya's body. She was alone and she was defeated.

Clarke saw a flash of the Ark's guard uniform before the butt of a gun was thrust at her, she felt pain bloom across her face and then the disorientation of being dragged into camp, she heard whispers of 'grounder' and wanted to cry out but found that she couldn't even move. Just as she thought she would pass out her mother's face filled her vision. This must be worse than she thought, some part of Clarke's brain pointed out, her mother had died when the exodus ship had crashed to earth, over a week before she had been captured in mount weather, she was sure of it. And then she was sure of nothing but the darkness clouding her vision as she gave it the exhaustion.

'Mom?' She croaked before her eyes drifted shut and her body slumped forwards.

When Clarke came round she was on a bed in a makeshift hospital ward, and her mother was leaning over her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she smiled down at Clarke, gripping her hand as though she'd never let go.

'Mom?' She asked again, reassuring herself that this was real, that her mother was alive and standing next to her. Abby Griffin squeezed her hand as a tear slid down her face. 'Did anyone else make it here?' Clarke croaked desperately.

'Yes.' Abby nodded. 'Six of you did.'

Clarke felt hope blossom deep inside of her. Please let it be.

'Finn and Bellamy?'

Even through her own tears Clarke could see her mother nodding and smiling. The relief was too much and Clarke couldn't hold it back any more, sobs shaking her body 'I thought they were dead'.

Later, she would dwell on who she was most relieved to hear had survived. For now she had to rest.


	11. Chapter 11

*Shout out to my German readers! I met so many amazing Germans last year and one of my flatmates at Uni is German, I love visiting my friends everywhere from Munich to Berlin, your country is beautiful! Please favourite/follow/review*

After washing off the rest of the blood and dirt left from her journey, and being patched up by her mum, Clarke slept. She slept for longer than she had allowed herself to in months, and when she woke up her mum was still at the end of her bed, sleeping with her head against Clarke's leg, hair fanned across the bed.

After waiting impatiently for hours, Abby released Clarke from her care, and she was overjoyed to find Raven waiting for her outside the medical tent. Pulling Clarke into a hug the two girls couldn't help but think how strange it was, but how relieved they were to find the other alive. Clarke had no more room for jealousy in her heart, and suddenly found she was ok with the idea of Raven and Finn. She wondered what had changed to stop the pang of envy that used to shoot through her when she saw them kiss, or when she saw Raven leave Finn's tent in the mornings.

The two talked for a moment, explaining to the other how they had survived the weeks after the drop ship and made it to Camp Jaha, eyeing the other in amazement as they heard of their trials. Raven's eyebrows knitted together in shock and concern when she learnt of the others trapped in Mount Weather.

'Open the gates'.

Clarke's head lifted in the direction of the shout and she saw four figures staggering into the camp, covered in mud and blood, exhaustion set in the slump of their shoulders. Two girls at the back, and a third with her arm around a boy with dark curly hair in front.

'Bellamy' Clarke breathed, hardly noticing Raven turn to look at her with a smile.

'Go,' she said knowingly, 'I'll catch up.'

Clarke started automatically towards where they stood, just inside the gate, barely even registering the people around her. Her eyes never left him as he talked briefly to Abby, running a hand through his ark, messy hair, as she took two of the injured party to medical with her. Clarke felt herself break into a run as she neared the boy and as soon as she was close enough she threw her arms around his neck, lifting herself up on tip toe. Her heart was racing against his and she couldn't hide her smile at the one thought running through her head. 'Bellamy was home.'

Bellamy turned to look at Octavia as Abby Griffin walked with Mel and Monroe back toward the medical tent in the middle of the camp. He ran a hand through his hair, the weight of Sterling's death heavy on his shoulders, when he felt a small force knock him backwards and arms wrap around his neck, gripping him tightly. He stepped back to balance himself as her scent washed over him. Clarke. His arms came up in surprise and before he realised it they were gripped tightly around her waist, crushing her closer to him.

She buried her head in the join between his shoulder and his neck and relished in the warmth and strength that was Bellamy, deliriously, blissfully happy that he was alive.

'Now there's something I thought I'd never see' quipped Octavia, but Bellamy didn't care. He closed his eyes and dropped his head so his chin rested on Clarke's shoulder, nose buried in her hair, and closed his eyes, enjoying how good it felt to hold her in his arms again. He let out a mix between a sigh of relief and a chuckle of amazement, and Clarke's smile grew wider still. She rubbed her thumb down the back of Bellamy's neck and felt his strong arms squeeze her closer than she thought possible, until they were completely flush, with no distance between. Both marvelled at how right it felt.

Too soon for both of them they pulled away to face each other, still just centimetres apart, they drank in the sight of the person they thought they'd lost. Bellamy's jaw tightened at the dozens of cuts scattered across Clarke's face and he felt a protective rage shoot through him at the thought of her being hurt so badly. Clarke took in Bellamy's tired face marked with cuts and dirt, and the sadness still colouring his eyes, and ached to help him, to soothe him.  
Dragging her eyes away she belatedly realised that Octavia was there too and drew her in for a hug too, feeling guilty for not recognising her next to Bellamy at first.

'I'm glad you're ok' said the other Blake emotionally.

'You too' smiled Clarke.

She turned back to Bellamy and felt the relief wash over her all over again, thinking she would never get enough of that feeling, would never get tired of seeing his face as it was just now, gazing down at her in something akin to wonder. Then she saw Raven stop next to her she remembered what her mum had told her.

'Where's Finn?'

Bellamy tried to hide his jealousy at the mention of the boy, cursing him for taking Clarke away as soon as he had found her again.

'Looking for you' he told her carefully.

Worry and confusion flickered across Clarke's face and Bellamy's expression softened again.

'Come on.' He said gently, taking her hand and leading her into the camp, oblivious to the surprised glance that Raven and Octavia shared. They walked silently until they reached the quarters that he and Octavia had been assigned. When they were inside the small chamber Bellamy sat on the side of the bed and pulled Clarke next to him, he released her hand reluctantly and started to talk, his voice low, eyes on the floor.

'Finn wanted to go-'

Clarke cut him off by placing her hand on his leg. 'First let me tell you something?' her voice was soft but resolute. Bellamy dropped his hand over hers and squeezed it gently, so she continued, 'I didn't get the chance to say anything that day, and after the drop ship door closed, after I closed it, I just kept thinking about how much I regretted not telling you.' She closed her eyes, summoning the courage to continue. 'I understand why you judged me the way you did. What you went through on the Ark was unjust and shows how flawed our system was, I don't blame you for the way you treated me to start with, but Bellamy, since we arrived on the ground things changed, we changed, and I need you to know that.'

Bellamy didn't realise he was holding his breath until she had finished, surprised that she was choosing to reassure him, rather than find out where Finn was. What was she saying? Bellamy had changed because he realised he had been wrong about Clarke, thinking that she wasn't the person he believed she was when he first met her in the medical station. She was that person and more, she was kind and caring and brave and beautiful. But how had Clarke changed?

'You don't have to say anything, but we need to go see my mother. We need to get Finn back.'

Bellamy didn't know what to think anymore, let alone what to say, so he left the small room with Clarke without a word, grateful that she did understand.


	12. Chapter 12

*Shout out to my American readers - you're my most views by country! I've never been across the pond but I've met so many amazing Americans from Seattle to New York and I can't wait to visit them all! Thanks for reading and please review/favourite/follow!*

Clarke stormed into the council meeting, Bellamy at her heels. Her mother, the new Chancellor of what was left of the Ark, was refusing to send a search party to find Finn and Murphy, Clarke had to change that.

'I'm sorry, the decisions been made.' She told Clarke firmly, standing in front of her, trying to organise the guilt she felt at risking the lives of the two boys by sending them out in the first place.

'You're sorry?' Bellamy replied lowly, coming to stand behind Clarke, his dangerous tone making the hairs rise on her arms, 'Finn and Murphy are out there looking for your daughter, with guns you gave us, and now she's home, you're just going to abandon them. If you can't spare the guards, we know the terrain, we have a map, we can do it ourselves'.

Her mother refused immediately, and stood by what she thought was the right decision, but Clarke knew Bellamy, and as she turned to face him, he recognised the look in her eyes.

They were gone within an hour, accompanied by Octavia.

That night, miles from camp, as Clarke slept by the fire Bellamy's eyes slid away from where they rested on Octavia with a rush of love, before he found his eyes searching Clarke's face, his fingers itching to reach for her. As he was lost in thoughts of her and him, and their conversation that afternoon, mind racing over images of blonde hair and blue eyes, the stubborn set of her mouth, those very eyes flickered open and met his stare.

As Clarke lay there she could feel Bellamy watching her, could practically hear his thoughts racing, until she couldn't take it anymore, she looked up at him and lost herself in his dark eyes. With a small, sad smile Bellamy shifted his attention back to the fire. Clarke offered a smile too as he started to talk softly, deep voice making her heart catch as usual.

'The last time I saw you, you were closing the drop ship door.' He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew he needed to say this.

Clarke winced at the pain in her heart at his words, looking down in grief. She had worked so hard to block the memory that tormented her out after they found each other again.

'Had to be done' said Bellamy, firmly. He knew Clarke was racked with guilt, but he was a fighter, and he had fought to find her again. He meant what he said, she made the right decision for everyone, and even though he was reassured by her concern, he hated the thought of her tormenting herself over it.

Clarke lifted her eyes once more and met Bellamy's, she felt her eyes sting at the care in his eyes and she knew the answer to her questions just like that. She knew who she was more relieved to find alive, and she knew why it no longer upset her to think about Finn and Raven together. She was done pushing her feelings aside, she was done with being scared.

She sat up with a sigh, her jacket, which she had used as a blanket, falling off her and onto the floor, and moved to sit next to Bellamy on the log, taking his hand and threading their fingers together before resting her head on his shoulder gently. It had been so long since the last time they sat together next to a fire like this, the thought made tears prick at her eyes.

'Did you get any sleep?' She asked him after a few minutes, lifting her head and looking up at him. His heart warmed at the concern in her voice.

'It's ok, I'll sleep when we find Finn.' Bellamy searched Clarke's eyes as he mentioned Spacewalker, torturing himself, but he found none of the emotion the name used to bring out in Clarke, instead she stared clearly back at him. 'You haven't seen him Clarke,' Bellamy murmured, 'losing you, the others, the war, it changed him. He executed the grounder that drew us the map.' Clarke gasped quietly. 'Pulled the trigger without even blinking and walked away.'

Clarke couldn't disguise her shock, but one thought kept running through her mind. 'Bellamy would never do that.' Even right after they were dropped on the ground, before they grew so close, Bellamy had never been a murderer, Clarke thought back to finding Atom and Bellamy's shaking hands, back to Dax and Bellamy's pain when he killed him, back to the deaths upon deaths caused by the grounders.

'I saw what he was capable of and still I let him go with Murphy and two automatic rifles.' Guilt racked Bellamy's voice.

Clarke shifted so she faced Bellamy, their legs knocking together, and let go of his hand, instead reaching her right hand out and resting it on the side of Bellamy's face, fingertips brushing the hair at his temple.

Bellamy's breath caught in his throat and he watched Clarke search for the words she needed to say to him.

'I'm sure that had to be done too,' she looked at him from under her lashes, 'you can't keep blaming yourself for everything Bellamy. Everything you have done has been to protect others.' He looked down at her, centimetres between the two of them, and willed what she said to be true.

Seeing the pain and uncertainty in his eyes Clarke sank her hand further into Bellamy's dark curls and pressed her lips to his. Bellamy's left arm curled around her waist as their lips moved together, pulling the blonde closer against his side, feeling her left hand grip his right shoulder and then skate up to the side of his neck. Too quickly she pulled back and stood up from the log, she took a few shaky steps away, turning to look out to the trees behind them.

Clarke swallowed, trying to slow her racing heart, her shaking hand brushed the hair out of her face. She didn't realise he had risen from the log silently and was standing behind her until she felt his hand on her waist, fingers splayed, his thumb brushing against her back. Her breath hitched and she turned, Bellamy's hand running across her stomach as she moved, coming to rest on the other side of her waist, his thumb now against her midriff, palm warm through her shirt.

'Clarke,' he said thickly, she could barely make out his face, but her name was enough. She stepped closer to him and felt his other hand come up to brush the hair from her face, threading it into her soft, golden waves, before tilting her head up again and leaning down to capture her mouth.

Her hands came up automatically, one gripped his bicep and the other wound around the back of his neck, pulling them closer together as she stood on tiptoes, pressing herself into him, moulding their bodies together. She nipped at his lower lip and he groaned, the sound vibrating through the two of them and making Clarke shiver.

She ran her hands down Bellamy's chest, splaying her fingers against the defined muscle under his shirt. Her hands wound their way back up to his face as Bellamy wrapped his right arm around her waist tightly and lifted her off the ground. Clarke wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her hands in his hair, sliding her tongue into his mouth.

She revelled in the warmth of his body and the definition of his shoulders and his abs as they moved together. Bellamy stepped forward carefully until Clarke felt the rough bark of a tree against her back, they pulled apart breathing heavily and Bellamy dropped his forehead to rest against hers as Clarke slid her legs down to touch the grass again. His hand threaded into her hair again, making her stomach flutter. 

'Clarke,' his breath brushed across her cheek gently, lifting her hair, she opened her eyes and looked up at him, marvelling at the hundreds of freckles dusting his face again. 'I…' Bellamy struggled to find the words to describe how he felt, thinking back to what he had told Finn before he shot the grounder _'there are some lines you can't uncross'_. He was done waiting around, he was done pretending he didn't have feelings for Clarke. 'I understand if you…if you need some time. But you should know, this is about more than just tonight for me.'

Clarke reached out a hand and ran it across his shoulder. 'I don't need time Bellamy, this isn't a decision I need to make, I think I chose you a long time ago.'

Bellamy didn't even try and hide the smile on his face as he stepped away from Clarke, taking her hand and leading them back to the fire. 'First we find Finn and Murphy, then we rescue our friends in Mount Weather, together Princess.'

'Then let's go, I think we've slept long enough' said Octavia, leaving them wondering just how much she had heard, or seen.


	13. Chapter 13

*Shout out to my Canadian readers! I met so many Canadians in every country I visited last year and they all had one thing in common – they were absolutely lovely. Thanks for living up to the amazing hype about you and thanks for reading! Please favourite/follow/review!*

The three of them, Bellamy, Clarke and Octavia, trekked through the forest the next day, searching for any sign of Finn and Murphy. Octavia was concerned for her friends of course, but she was more worried about Lincoln. He had been captured by reapers just as they had been reunited. The knowledge that he was in danger somewhere made her feel sick but she had never been more determined of anything than she was that she would get him back. She had to.

Bellamy and Clarke didn't talk much as they walked, spending much of the day in comfortable silence, communicating more in looks, the way they had found they were able to. Together they decided that their best bet would be to rescue Lincoln first, his knowledge of the area, the grounders and the mountain men would be invaluable to them, and they were going to need all the help they could get to rescue their friends.

Just before the sun started to sink into the sky the trio reached the huge, crumbling marble statue engraved 'Abraham Lincoln' which marked the boundary of Lincoln's village. Bellamy felt Clarke's presence next to him and glanced down, mouth quirking in a half smile as he took in her wild hair and flushed cheeks. She looked up and caught his eye, feeling her stomach twist. His mouth was lifted at one side and his eyes twinkled at her above his freckles. For the first time in too long, Clarke was reminded of the guard on the Ark with the glass in his shoulder, how he had teased her then, and looked at her with the same twinkle in his eye, and how she had looked at him feeling the same pull in her stomach. Funny how much had changed since then, and yet here they were.

Suddenly a muffled sound broke their gazes, Octavia held back a sob and Bellamy turned to look at her, concern already etched on his face.

'O?' His voice uneasy.

'The reapers came from there.' Her voice was thick as her eyes filled with tears. Bellamy's heart ached at her pain. 'I couldn't save him Bell.' Tears fell down her face as Bellamy pulled her into his arms.

Clarke felt her own eyes prick with tears at the display. She couldn't help but think this was probably her favourite side of Bellamy, this caring, gentle man who had continued to surprise her and had ultimately won her over.

Bellamy stroked Octavia's hair as she cried. 'It's ok, its ok.' He murmured softly, patient until Octavia's tears had dried, unaware that right behind him, the girl he was falling in love with was falling for him too, hard.

They searched until it was almost dark, but there was no trace of Lincoln, or any of the rest of his village, anywhere. They reluctantly returned to camp, where Octavia disappeared to her quarters silently, disappointment weighing her shoulders down.

'I'm sorry,' said Clarke carefully, 'I know how much it hurts you to see her upset.'

Bellamy was surprised and emboldened by her concern, and the realisation that she was right, she did know him well. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers, brushing his thumb gently along her knuckles as they stood for a moment inside the gate to the camp.

When Abby saw the two of them sat together at a table later that evening, empty dinner dishes pushed aside, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt them. Their legs were threaded together, heads close as they poured over the map Clarke had drawn up, based on the one she was given in Mount Weather, and her own knowledge. Occasionally they would glance up and share a look that Abby recognised from when she and Jake had started dating, it was a look of excitement and wonder and want. Her daughter; brave, independent Clarke, was in love with the fierce, protective guard from the Ark, who was willing to die for those he loved, just as she was. As she walked away slowly she couldn't help but succumb to the grief that still accompanied the thought of her late husband, but enjoyed the flicker of happiness that came with knowing her daughter had found someone who would make her happy, as she knew Bellamy would, even if the two didn't quite know it yet.

'Ok, tell me again.' Bellamy was looking over the map intently, his voice was deep and serious, and as his dark eyes met hers she felt a shiver of attraction crawl up her spine. Their legs were intertwined, his, then hers, then his, then hers. Every now and then they would shift, knocking their legs together, reassuring the other that they were still there.

'It's a labyrinth, we got to the damn through this tunnel.' Clarke gestured to various points of the map. 'That's all connected to the mine system, that's our way in.' Bellamy was struck once again by the impossible strength of the girl in front of him, not only did she escape all by herself, but she was already working on a plan to get back in and rescue everyone else.

'Sure, we just have to get past the reapers and the mountain men.' His tone was serious but he squeezed her leg between his under the table teasingly. 'I swear to god, if your mom doesn't sanction a mission soon I'm going by myself.'

'You won't be by yourself.' Bellamy didn't doubt it for a minute, he squeezed her leg again and she smiled, they shared a long look, before Clarke's eyes slid past his and he watched her eyes follow someone over his shoulder. He turned and saw Finn leaving the chancellors chambers.

'How's Finn doing anyway?' He tried to come off nonchalant but was pretty sure he failed. Even though he and Clarke had kissed, and had grown closer than ever, he still didn't know where he stood with the girl. A small part of him secretly doubted he could compete with the history she had with Finn, but he hoped against hope that he was wrong.

'I haven't talked to him since we got back.' He eyed her curiously, her expression was almost ashamed. 'I don't know what to say.' The meaningful look in her eyes told him she was talking about more than just what Finn had done. She also meant what had happened between them. Did she feel guilty? Like she had betrayed Finn by kissing him?

The crunching of gravel under boot told Bellamy that Finn was walking over to them, even without seeing the look on Clarke's face.

'Hey.' He said, eyeing the small distance between Clarke and Bellamy with a flash of jealousy.

'Hey.' Bellamy mirrored his short tone and noticed Clarke leaning back, putting more distance between them, and he understood Finn's jealousy. She had yet to say anything to him though. Bellamy watched her for a moment, gaging the situation before rising 'next round's on me'. He picked up their metal cups and made his way back to the mess hall, giving them some space. He knew full well how Finn felt about Clarke, and how far he was willing to go for her, but he didn't know if Clarke felt the same way anymore, surely everything that had happened had to mean she had feelings for him too. He knew he wanted to be the one to look after Clarke, to protect her, but he was surprised to find that from the bottom of his heart he just wanted her to be happy, even if it was with Finn and not him.

Finn took Bellamy's seat and Clarke didn't know how to feel about the large part of her that wished it was still Bellamy sat opposite her, warm thighs against hers, dark eyes meeting hers across the table, talking to her without saying a word. As Finn started to talk to her she realised that she barely even recognised him anymore, the person she thought that she knew but had done nothing but prove her wrong. He had lied to her, gone back to Raven, and now had transformed from the peaceful, diplomatic rebel she had started to fall for, into a dangerously unstable wreck. She didn't resent him anymore for hurting her the way he had when Raven landed on the ground, but she suddenly knew that the feelings she had for him were gone, a fact she realised she had needed to accept for a long time now.

'We did what we had to do.' Bellamy heard Finn's pleading voice as he walked back to the table, drinks in hand. On the other hand, Bellamy thought, Finn had changed, and this new Finn couldn't make Clarke happy, he knew it with every fibre of his body.

'Here you go, Princess.' He said lowly, placing her cup in front of her, now filled with the deceptively innocent looking moonshine brewed by Monty and Jasper that they had salvaged from the drop ship, and dropping his hand onto her shoulder. He kept his eyes on Finn the whole time, noticing his eyes narrow at the nickname and the fairly intimate gesture.

Clarke understood that Bellamy was letting Finn know that he had competition, and she knew that she should have been irritated at the testosterone fuelled rivalry, but honestly she was glad for both the distraction, and for the rare display of emotion from the usually stoic Bellamy. It reassured her that her feelings weren't as one sided as she was starting to believe.

Yes, they had kissed, but Bellamy spent the first weeks at camp circulating girls in and out of his tent. A kiss was just a kiss, and she had initiated it. Although he had followed her and continued it, before telling her that it wasn't just about that moment for him. It was just so confusing, and Clarke could admit that she was scared of getting hurt again.

Finn jumped up from the table so suddenly that Clarke flinched, snapping out of her thoughts. His face was equally pained and angry. 'Well don't let me interrupt.' He threw one last hurt look over his shoulder as he marched back to the centre of camp, his shoulders tense.

'You ok?' Bellamy reclaimed his seat opposite her, placing a hand on her knee under the table and squeezing it gently. She picked up her drink and downed it one, screwing up her face as the liquor burned its way down her throat. Bellamy knew he shouldn't really be surprised, but he was, Finn had unsettled her more than he had realised.

'Yeah. Just surprised.' He cocked an eyebrow questioningly. 'I don't know who that is, but it's not who I thought Finn was. He has the strangest look in his eyes, like a part of him is missing. I hate the idea that this is my fault.'

'It's not your fault Clarke. Something's changed in him yes, but it's not your fault that he can't handle his emotions at the moment.'

Clarke realised that the two boys were complete opposites in many ways. Whilst Finn was hot headed and often let his emotions get the better of him, Bellamy was calm and collected, thinking of others before himself.

She felt the warmth of the moonshine spreading through her body.

'I thought I loved him.'

Bellamy blinked in surprise at the admission, his thoughts lingering on the past tense. 'Just goes to show how wrong you can be about people I guess.'

'Clarke…' Bellamy cleared his throat nervously, not quite believing what he was about to say 'I understand you need time, I just want you to know I'll be here, if that's what you want.'

Maybe it was the alcohol taking effect, or maybe it was because she'd wanted to do it since they sat down, maybe it was because seeing Finn had made her realise what she had been too blind to admit before, but whatever the reason, Clarke leant across the table and pressed her lips against Bellamy's in one swift movement. She pulled back 'I don't want time, I want you Bellamy.'

To say his heart soared would be an understatement. He had grown to learn not to trust people, just to look after O, and himself. He built walls around himself, learnt to hide his emotions, to push them down until they stopped hurting him. He didn't think his heart could work for anyone else anymore, but he had never felt the way he felt about Clarke before. Something about her made him want to stop fighting everything and just feel, like he used to.

He reached across the table and threaded their fingers together, fitting perfectly as usual.

'I want you too Clarke. I want us, together.'


	14. Chapter 14

*Shout out to my UK readers! Obviously my favourite country, I hope that wherever on our little island you're from you're enjoying the start of spring! I'm writing from Kent and it's blue skies and crisp mornings and I'm loving it! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review for a fellow brit!*

The next day passed uneventfully, Clarke and Bellamy waited impatiently for the council to tell them they could return to search for Lincoln, and finally Abby agreed to a mission. To go and search for any survivors of the Ark.

Clarke found Bellamy standing with Murphy by the mess hall the day before they were due to leave with a group of armed guards and Abby herself. As she walked over to him she allowed her eyes to wander over Bellamy's broad shoulders and strong arms folded across his chest.

'Hello Princess.' Bellamy smiled down at her when she reached him, and she flushed slightly with pleasure.

'We should talk about tomorrow.'

Bellamy raised his eyebrows. 'Bye Murphy.'

John moped off grumbling and when he was far enough away Clarke said, with a small grin 'I have a plan. Bring Octavia along tomorrow, when we get far enough into the forest, you two split from the group and go find Lincoln. Raven and I will cover for you, hopefully buy you enough time to get far away before my mom and the guards notice you're missing and go after you.'

Bellamy was impressed, not only could the plan work, but she was willing to sacrifice her mother's trust, placing it in him instead, Evidently Clarke could tell what he was thinking because she carried on 'I don't agree with my mom's decision and we both want Lincoln home and Octavia happy so we can focus on getting everyone else out of Mouth Weather. I know you can do this.'

He nodded determinedly and Clarke was struck, as she always was by how fierce he looked. A jolt of attraction shot through and she had to force herself to concentrate less on Bellamy's strong jaw and piercing eyes, and more on the words coming out of his mouth.

'Ok, I'll find Octavia and let her know.' He stepped closer to her first though, and cupped a hand under her head, threading his fingers through her hair. She tilted her head up and her lips met his halfway. They broke apart after a few long seconds when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly.

'Do you mind?' Murphy's voice was deliberately loud and disgusted, but his eyes were shining with mirth. 'Some of us still have to eat.'

'Shut up Murphy,' Bellamy and Clarke grinned, realising they had spoken together and Murphy rolled his eyes.

'Yeah well it's about time you moved on from Finn, and Bellamy's been pining after you forever, maybe this will actually be less painful than it was waiting for you guys to realise you were perfect for each other – equally stubborn and annoyingly heroic.'

Clarke and Bellamy shifted uncomfortably, both feeling a blush rising on their cheeks, but neither denied what Murphy said.

The next day, after they had been trekking through the forest for hours, Clarke felt Bellamy take her hand and squeeze it. Together with Octavia they slowed down slightly, gradually falling to the back of the group without arousing suspicion.

'We're about a mile west of Lincoln's village,' Bellamy murmured quietly, 'we'll head east from here and track back to the reaper tunnels leading to Mount Weather.'

'Be careful.' She whispered, eyes tight with worry, and Bellamy leant down swiftly to press his lips to hers, not noticing Octavia's mouth drop open in surprise before curving into a grin. Clarke couldn't help but wonder at how quickly the action had become normal. She supposed they had always been open in the way they had touched each other beforehand, brushing hands and arms, crouching together on hunts, pulling each other back from danger, or alerting the other to it. Maybe it was only natural for touches and glances to become embraces and kisses. It certainly felt natural.

It was almost fifteen minutes before one of the guards noticed that two of their company were missing.

'Where are they Clarke?' Abby was furious but Clarke wasn't scared, and, together with Raven, denied any knowledge of their whereabouts. Abby sent three guards to find them and bring them back, only time would tell if they managed to get far enough way, Clarke just had to concentrate on not going out of her mind with worry.

Octavia and Bellamy had been on the move for almost an hour when they heard the shout.

'Blake. Stop right there.'

'Shit.' Breathed Octavia. They turned to see three guards, guns trained on them, approaching fast through the forest.

Thinking quickly for a way out, Bellamy almost missed the hundreds of small animals running past them on the forest floor until her heard O's whisper, 'Bell.' His eyes scanned the tree line, already knowing what he would see. The clouds of acid fog were rolling towards them at an alarming speed.

'We have to run.' He barked at the guards, 'now.' Turning and trusting them not to shoot, he ran, pulling Octavia after him. The footsteps behind them told him that they were following as they ran for shelter. After a few minutes they reached it - jutting out of the wall, covered in foliage and almost invisible unless you knew what you were looking for, was a door handle. Together he and O wrenched it open and together with two of the guards they piled into the doorway, slamming it shut against the fog that was licking at their backs. Bellamy wasn't sure which guard had been left outside, but there had been no sign of him as they had reached the door, so he had to assume the fog had got him whilst they had been running.

Catching their breath the small group turned to face what they had run into, torches sweeping the large room. As their eyes adjusted they realised they were in a large space, supported by dozens of thick, concrete columns. The vast space had been separated into small sections by faded white lines drawn on the floor to make rows and rows of rectangles, and parked in some of these rectangles were old automobiles, covered in thick layers of dust. They were in an underground parking garage, Bellamy remembered seeing a picture of one once, years ago in school on the Ark.

They decided to split up and search the large space, Bellamy and O taking one side, the remaining two guards took the other.

What seemed like hours passed before Bellamy and Octavia started hearing the strange sounds coming from far behind them. They headed back to return to the point where they had split up, growing more and more uneasy as they got closer to the sounds filling the garage. It was a warbled children's song, becoming distorted as it echoed around. They located the small wind-up toy producing the song and Bellamy stomped on it once. The silence was suddenly deafening in the garage, and was broken only by eerie muffled noises and shuffles coming from one corner. Bellamy spun around, his torch illuminating two reapers bent over the body of one of the guards, blood pooled on the ground underneath him.

Blinded by the sudden light the reaper's lurched towards him, but two shots reverberated through the garage, followed by the heavy thuds of two bodies hitting the floor. Footsteps behind him had Bellamy spinning on his heel, finger still on the trigger, locating any other reapers, but Octavia's voice stopped him.

'Bell wait,' her voice was heavy, 'it's Lincoln.'

The reaper ran towards them and Bellamy saw that his sister was right, it did used to be Lincoln, but there was none of the love usually evident in his eyes as he ran for Octavia, instead there was an animalistic bloodlust. Before Lincoln could reach Octavia she shot him in the leg and Bellamy knocked him out with the butt of his rifle.

They had found Lincoln, now they had to get him somewhere safe, without risking their own lives in the process.

It had been hours without any sign of Bellamy or Octavia and Clarke couldn't help but worry, she had known they would be gone potentially all day, but every minute that passed, the sick feeling gnawing away at her got worse.

Abby decided to return the group to Camp Jaha, and after picking at her dinner, Clarke spent a sleepless night in her quarters, and was less than impressed to be woken up by the wild rumours circulating the camp about the reappearance of Jaha himself. He said he carried a message from the grouders – leave, or die. Panic was spreading at the thought of a grounder attack – the little contact they had had with the grounders, and the stories that had been recounted by the few members of the 100 at the camp, were enough to induce a restlessness that was growing into something dangerous.

At noon, Abby and Jaha appeared in front of the restless crowd that he been growing steadily all day, and announced that no decision had been made on whether to stay or to leave, but Jaha made it perfectly clear that he was intend on running before the sun rose again. Clarke felt irritation bubble up as her mind raced over the fact that she may have risked Bellamy's life in order for them to run the very next day.

Her voice rang out across the crowd, silencing the hundreds of hushed conversations. 'If we leave here, what happens to our people in Mount Weather?' Her eyes burned into Jaha's and he had the decency to look away before he met her eyes again.

'As your mother said, that is a very difficult decision to make.'

Abby stepped forward, looking at her daughter resolutely, 'No decision's been made.' Clarke felt a small amount of relief flood her veins. Abby was fighting for her.

Bellamy and Octavia had reached the gate to the camp as Clarke's voice rang out. 'Stay here' he muttered to Octavia before making his way slowly through the crowd to where Clarke stood, feeling a rush of affection for the stubborn girl, blonde hair falling down her back as she stood determinedly, staring Jaha down.

As Abby turned to leave, the crowd began to disperse and Clarke felt a strong hand grip her arm. She turned and found Bellamy standing behind her. Her heart dropped to the floor in relief and she threw her arms around his neck, griping his familiar leather jacket and pulling them together in a tight embrace.

'Where have you been?' She asked, her breath hot against his shoulder. He squeezed her waist tightly before they stepped apart slightly, his hand resting warmly on her waist, leaning close towards her.

'In the drop ship,' his voice was low and his eyes were tight with stress, 'you need to come back with me right now.'

'Why what's happened?' Clarke scanned his face for clues, realising the severity of whatever was going on with a sinking feeling.

'I'll explain on the way, bring a med kit, meet me at Raven's gate.' She nodded immediately, giving him one last look before turning and heading to the medical bay, immediately noticing the cold where he his hand had been. She didn't see Finn standing slightly off to the side, watching the exchange with a pained expression, but Bellamy did when he turned to head to Raven's gate.

'This is my fault.' Finn's expression was so conflicted it was hard to tell what he was feeling the most strongly, regret, loss, jealousy. 'The grounders are attacking because of me.'

Bellamy steeled himself, unsure why he was comforting the boy, maybe he felt guilty for the scene Finn had just witnessed. 'The grounders are attacking because that's what they do, stay here and let us know what the council decide.'

She was at the gate in two minutes, where Bellamy was waiting for her. As they hurried to the drop ship Bellamy recounted Octavia and his experience in the garage, and that they had found Lincoln. Found and restrained him.

Pushing the medical kit up first, Clarke climbed the ladder to the second level of the drop ship, ironically, the same level where they had held Lincoln the first time he had been restrained.

As she climbed out onto the floor she took in Octavia's pale, drawn face. The girl was sat, holding her knees, in the corner of the drop ship, visibly shaken, and the reason why was all too apparent. Chained by his wrists and ankles on one side, thrashing as best he could, yanking at his restraints. His face was contorted in fury and bloodthirst and he was gnashing his teeth like a caged animal. The figure in front of her was so frighteningly not Lincoln that she gasped and took a step back automatically, bumping into Bellamy who's hands automatically came up to rest on the tops of her arms, chest pressed against her back.

'It's ok, it's ok,' he said into her hair, chest vibrating against her back comfortingly 'he's been restrained.'

'I can't believe we're back here again.' Bellamy brushed his hand down her right arm, reassuring her automatically.

'Can you help him?' Octavia's voice was exhausted and sounded as drained as she felt.

'I don't know.' Said Clarke honestly, stepping closer to the reaper in front of her, feeling Bellamy move with her and feeling braver for it.

Lincoln's struggling grew fiercer and he lunged for Clarke repeatedly. Octavia squeezed her eyes shut desperately, face tight 'I knew Mount Weather controlled the reapers,' mused Clarke, 'I had no idea they were creating them.' Lincoln roared at her, muscles straining in his effort to escape his bonds.

Bellamy's voice was taut as he voiced what they were all afraid of. 'If they can do that to Lincoln, what are they doing to our friends?'


	15. Chapter 15

*Shout out to my Australian readers! I'm going to Australia in two years' time and I'm already excited – I can't wait! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review.*

'He's convulsing.' Clarke said, confusion written on her face.

'What does it mean?' Octavia asked, moving closer to Lincoln.

Clarke's eyes scanned Lincoln's body automatically, looking for another sign to explain why her brain was reminding her of the alcoholic patient her mother had been tending to in the Ark. He had been found out and taken to the medical whilst his body fought the withdrawal symptoms, convulsing as Lincoln's was now. Her eyes continued over his body and found the bloody bandage wrapped around his lower thigh.

'What happened to his leg?'

Bellamy saw Octavia's pained expression as she answered. 'I shot him.'

Clarke hesitated, saddened by how much this was hurting the girl, knowing that the person she was in love with was suffering so much, in part because of her. Bellamy's voice snapped her out of it, the way only his could.

'Clarke, he's lost a lot of blood.'

Bellamy hated every second of this. He hated seeing O so distressed, and he hated putting Clarke in danger, but they needed Lincoln, not just because of O, but because of Mount Weather.

Steeling herself, Clarke took a deep breath before stepping closer towards Lincoln, flinching as he thrashed harder against his restraints, cold eyes fixed on her, face contorting wildly with rage. Bellamy's fist clenched tighter around his torch, fighting to reach for her, to pull her back to him. Her eyes continued to scan him, stopping at the blood and marks on his neck.

'Can you shine the light on his neck?' The two siblings complied, illuminating the puncture wounds on Lincoln neck that could only have been caused by a needle.

'There are needle marks.'

'You think he's been drugged?' Bellamy's voice reassured her that he was so close.

'Maybe.' Clarke's mind was racing.

Suddenly Lincoln ripped one of the chains holding him clean off the wall and lunged for Clarke, striking her with the chain and almost knocking her to the floor. Lincoln grabbed her and dragged her upwards again, her face was millimetres from his when Bellamy grabbed his arm, raining hard punches on the reaper, desperate to save her. Lincoln dropped Clarke, who landed on the floor winded, and ripped the other chain holding his other hand from the wall as well. Octavia threw herself at Lincoln as he wrestled Bellamy to the floor with an almost inhuman strength, 'No!' She cried, but Lincoln hurled her against the wall like a rag doll, before turning his attention back to Bellamy. Summoning all her strength Clarke ran at Lincoln, giving Bellamy enough time to escape from under Lincoln and get the taser.

Lincoln threw Clarke to the ground the same way he had Octavia and ripped the final chain holding his ankles from the floor, running at Bellamy and hurling him to the floor. The sound of his head hitting the floor, knowing she was too far away to help, made Clarke feel sick. But before he could kill Bellamy, Octavia was there knocking Lincoln unconscious with a metal bar she had wrenched from the drop ship wall.

Panting furiously the three lay on the floor, four including the unconscious Lincoln. Slowly, painfully, Clarke crawled to where Bellamy lay unresponsive.

She breathed his name, taking in the blood and cuts now on his face, running her hand through his hair gently, begging and praying that he was going to be ok.

Bellamy opened his eyes, wincing at the pounding in his head and the aching all over his body. The first thing he saw were Clarke's blue eyes, filled with concern, and then her golden hair framing her face. She was crouched next to him on the floor, brushing the hair back from his forehead, his heart felt light in his chest at the realisation, almost outweighing the pain he felt everywhere else.

'Hey.' He smiled gently, shifting to sit up slightly. Clarke's small hands gripped his shoulders.

'Don't hurt yourself.' When he was sat up she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck gently, relaxing against him when his arms wrapped around her waist.

Bellamy suddenly remembered Octavia knocking Lincoln out and turned to find his sister sat by the unconscious body, trembling slightly in shock.

Together they bound him again, using more chains and ropes, leaving him lying on his back on the floor this time. When they were satisfied that he wouldn't be able to break out of these bonds Clarke turned her attention to Lincoln's leg.

'We have to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out. Hold his leg still.' But at that moment Lincoln woke up and started thrashing again, fortunately the restraints held. Octavia tried to give him some water but he refused to drink, snarling and trying to bite the hands that were worrying around his face.

'It's ok,' Octavia swallowed harshly, forcing back tears as she stood up, 'I'll get some more.'

Clarke watched, worried for both of them, as Bellamy rose from where he was crouched next to Lincoln, cutting Octavia off before she could reach the ladder and placing his hands on her arms.

'O, once the drug is out of his system he'll be ok.' He had to reassure her, had to look after her. His sister, his responsibility, he wouldn't let her suffer this alone.

Looking up at him she almost believed him, but she thought back to the stranger lying on the floor before she could help it and tears filled her eyes again. 'You can't protect me from this one big brother.' Her voice heavy with heartbreak, Octavia skirted around him and climbed down the ladder, head down.

Bellamy dropped back down to crouch next to Lincoln, staring unseeingly at the floor whilst his mind raced and his heart struggled to comprehend his and O's pain, to understand how they were still standing after so much grief and sorrow.

Clarke's hand reached for his, anchoring him until he was ready. After a minute or so Bellamy lifted his head and nodded to Clarke. She understood, the way only she could, and got to work, removing the bullet before cleaning and bandaging Lincoln's thigh.

'Your mom would be proud.' Bellamy said confidently and Clarke's chest filled with pride.

Before she could reach for him again footsteps told them that Octavia had returned, but as the sound neared it became clear that there were two sets of footsteps crossing the floor of the drop ship to ladder beneath them. They stood and Bellamy reached for his gun, training it on the hatch as Octavia climbed put, followed by a grounder, Nyko. He cocked his gun but Octavia stretched out an arm.

'Bellamy don't, he's Lincoln's friend and their healer.' Her eyes pleaded with his.

Lincoln's body began to convulse once more and he started to foam at the mouth.

'He's seizing again.' Glancing down at Clarke he saw that she was already looking at him, her eyes matching Octavia's, she wanted the healer alive. Bellamy lowered his gun and nodded his head towards Lincoln. Nyko walked over to where the reaper lay, eyes meeting Bellamy's with dislike. He crouched next to Lincoln's head and unrolled a cloth bad filled with different glad vials. Clarke watched him, shrewd eyes narrowed with distrust, as he selected a small dark bottle and uncapped it.

'What is that?' She asked, but the grounder ignored her. Her spine tingled, her instincts telling her something was wrong.

'Yu gonplei ste odon'. Nyko spoke for the first time and Bellamy saw Clarke's eyes shift to the left, deep in thought, before snapping back to Nyko. Her expression was clear and her eyes were a fiery, icy blue.

'Wait.' She cried, throwing her hand out to catch the drop that Nyko had tipped from the bottle over Lincoln's mouth.

Nyko unsheathed a knife from a scabbard in his thigh but Bellamy was there before he could do anything, gun cocked.

'Back off, right now.' His voice was dangerously angry.

Clarke repeated what he had said in Trigedasleng to herself, the same phrase Anya had breathed with her final breath. 'It's what they say before death.' She turned to look at Octavia, shock written on the younger girls face, 'he's not trying to heal him, he's trying to kill him.'

'Nyko.' He turned to Octavia when she spoke, cold eyes meeting furious ones, 'is it true?'

'Yes.' He replied, face softening, 'Death is the only way.'

'Hold on, there could be a way to bring him back.' Clarke refused to accept that there was nothing they could do.

'None that I've ever seen.'

Suddenly Finn burst through the hatch onto the second level of the drop ship. 'We have to go, the camp's leaving.' His eyes scanned the scene before him and his face paled as Nyko leapt up.

'You!' He roared furiously, grabbing Finn and slamming him against the wall, lifting him higher and he yelling in Trigedasleng before switching to English. 'You murdered my people. Elders. Children. Innocents.'

'Stop it.' Bellamy's shout echoed through the drop ship but Nyko ignored it.'

Octavia gripped Nyko's arm, trying to pull it off Finn's nefck, 'Nyko you're killing him.'

'Blood must have blood.' He roared.

Bellamy stepped closer, 'get out of the way' he yelled to Octavia.

'No, you're not killing him.'

'Move.'

Dragging her focus away from the chaos, Clarke searched for the taser Bellamy had tried to use on Lincoln. Finally she saw where it had rolled after being dropped, coming to rest in a corner. Jumping up she grabbed it and rounded on Nyko, tasing him before any more damage could be done. His twitching body dropped to the floor, releasing Finn who sank down against the wall.

Bellamy and Clarke's eyes found each other, checking they were ok, but Octavia's went to Lincoln's.

'Lincoln?' Her voice was strained. 'He's not breathing.'

Clarke was there in an instant, checking his pulse, Bellamy kept his gun trained on Nyko.

'His heart's stopped, move.' She fell into medic mode and began resuscitation. It was a long few seconds before Lincoln took a desperate gasp of air, choking slightly before taking another.

Clarke looked up at Octavia whose eyes were filled with a gratitude Clarke had only ever seen when life and death were involved.

'He was dead.' Nyko had sat up and was staring at Clarke with a mixture of shock, confusion and awe on his face. 'How did you do that?'

Clarke moved to talk to Nyko, explaining to each other their experience of reapers and trying to save them. After a while, Bellamy saw an idea form in Clarke's head, her eyes gleaming.

'What is it?'

She moved to stand in front of him. Finn noticed bitterly that she barely notice him where he sat. 'I know how to stop the attack.'

Bellamy looked down at her unsure, but he nodded, trusting her.

'I need you to stay here and watch over Lincoln.' 'And Octavia' her eyes said, but she knew the girl wouldn't want to be thought of as a burden, no matter than it wasn't true. 'I'm going to talk to the grounders.'

Bellamy wanted to argue, of course, but he knew that Clarke's mind was made up, so he did the only thing he could do, he stepped closer to her and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head gently. 'Be careful.' He murmured into her hair before stepping back.

'I'll be back in a few hours, I promise.'

Less than an hour later Clarke and Finn had returned to Camp Jaha. The walk back had been terse, with Finn shooting Clarke betrayed looks every few minutes. The camp had begun to evacuate when they arrived but before they could leave the camp shouts began to echo through the crowds. It was too late, the grounders were already here.

Clarke, Finn, Abby and Jaha stood in the council chambers. Jaha attempted to intimidate Abby into continuing with the evacuation plans, despite the fact that the grounders were already here, but Clarke believed in her mother, that she would trust that Clarke could save them, and she was right.

Abby turned to Clarke after refusing to bow to the power Jaha once held, but before she could begin discussing their plan, Jaha's voice caught her attention again.

'Sergeant Miller, Major Byrne, I am relieving Dr Griffin of her command. Place these three into custody, but make sure that they are ready to leave with the rest of us within the hour.' Jaha leaned into the guards faces, desperation colouring his actions, 'RIGHT NOW.' He bellowed, 'Or the blood of everyone in this camp will be on your hands too.'

Clarke looked to Abby, worried, but her eyes were fixed on Byrne's, neither her nor Miller had moved during Jaha's rant. Abby stepped towards where they stood, 'Major Byrne, Sergeant Miller, put Chancellor Jaha in the stockade.'

After a tense silence, lasting no more than a few seconds, Byrne nodded once, 'Yes ma'am.' The two guards secures Jaha and led him from the chambers, ignoring his protests and threats.

'Thank you.' Clarke said after he had gone, her mother was putting her faith in her, now she had to prove her right.

It was quickly agreed that Finn was to take Abby to Lincoln, after they had left, Clarke set out to the grounder camp on her own. As she approached the huge camp, lit by hundreds and hundreds of torches, her only clear thought was of Bellamy, and of how she would see him again before the sun set again.


	16. Chapter 16

*Shout out to my French readers! Bonjour, hope you're all enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it – two updates in one day! I love the south of France, my family and I used to go there every year! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review!*

Six grounders met Clarke on the outskirts of their camp and led her to their commander's tent. As they approached the fairly nondescript tent, made of red material, a huge, tattooed grounder walked toward Clarke, stopping in front of her and effectively blocking her path.

'If you so much as look at her the wrong way I will slit your throat.' His eyes were ferocious and his expression was fierce enough that Clarke didn't doubt it for a minute and she struggled to keep the fear from her face as she nodded. The grounder stepped aside and she ducked under the entrance to the tent.

A young woman, the commander, was sat on top a throne of sorts, wound together with branches and leather. Her long dark hair framed her striking face and her battle armour was both extravagantly ornate and attractive, and dangerous. Her eyes were lined with arresting black paint which appeared to drip down her face, making her blue eyes stand out even more on her tanned face. On her left was an older grounder woman, dark face scarred from countless battles, and the huge grounder from earlier took his place at the commander's right.

'So you are the one who killed 300 of my warriors.' Despite her young face, Lexa's voice carried with it an authority and wisdom that many could never achieve.

'You are the one who sent them there to kill my people.'

The commander nodded her head in acknowledgment and Clarke knew she had a chance. She told her about the reapers, about Lincoln, and although the older woman argued against it, the commander agreed to go with Clarke to Lincoln, demanding that Clarke prove her negotiations.

Bellamy's head shot up as the hatch to the second level of the drop ship opened, but he saw with dismay that it was only Finn. He had at least brought Abby with him, meaning Clarke had managed to pull off the first part of her plan, now he just had to worry about the second part.

'Where's Clarke?' Asked Octavia tightly. Now that she had Clarke's promise that she and Abby would save Lincoln she could focus on other problems again, such as the boy that stood between her brother's happiness with Clarke. Octavia had notices the hurt looks Finn shot Clarke at every available moment, trying to guilt her away from Bellamy and back into his arms. Although Octavia didn't doubt Clarke's feelings for her brother, she knew that Finn had broken her heart by returning to Raven, but continuing to string Clarke along as well. Maybe the boy had truly had no malicious intent, had merely been torn between loving two women, but people got hurt around him, and Octavia would not let that happen to her brother.

'She's trying to stop a war.' Said Finn, making Octavia's eyes narrow at his presumptuous tone.

Abby's face was serious as she assessed Lincoln, still shaking slightly in his bonds. Octavia returned to her position, crouching over him, eyes searching his face.

As Abby and the others fought to save Lincoln's life, Clarke led Lexa and a small guard of grounders to the drop ship. They arrived at the camp, walking past the bodies of the burnt grounders without a word, but Clarke hesitated outside the drop ship. It was silent inside.

Clarke climbed the ladder with an increasingly bad feeling and opened the drop ship to the sounds of Octavia's muffled sobbing. 'Come back.'

Clarke's heart sunk. They had failed. Lincoln had died, they had nothing to offer the grounders, now all their people would die, those at the camp, and those inside the mountain. Lexa followed Clarke up the ladder, as did the two grounders who had been in the tent with her. Her eyes took in the scene, Octavia's head on Lincoln's chest, weeping, and the other people in the drop ship, and finally settled on Clarke's. She knew they were too late.

Abby's gaze rested on Bellamy's as he searched for a solution, before resting on the taser that lay by his feet. Bellamy in turned looked at Clarke, reading her expression in an instant and reaching slowly for the rifle by his side. Clarke turned back to Lexa, who set her jaw and turned her head to nod once at the older grounder who reached for her sword, saying something lowly in Trigedasleng. The rest of the grounders and sky people in the drop ship reached to arm themselves, Bellamy and Finn pulled their rifles up and Clarke reached for the hand gun secured in her waist band, and Abby swooped on the taser, turning it on.

The two groups stood, staring each other down.

'Please,' Clarke stepped forward and Bellamy moved to flank her, 'you don't have to do this.'

'You lied.' Lexa's voice was hard. 'And you're out of time.'

Suddenly Abby dropped to the floor next to Lincoln, pushing Octavia out of the way she pressed the taser against Lincoln's chest. The shock going through his body didn't do anything, but Clarke understood, she replaced her gun in her waistband.

'Hit him again.'

'No.' Cried Octavia but Bellamy held out an arm, motioning her to stay put, he trusted the Clarke knew what he mum was doing, that was enough for him.

Abby shocked Lincoln again and he took a gasping breath. The current had restarted his heart.

Clarke sighed in relief, turning back to Lexa as Lincoln whispered 'Octavia.'

The commander sheathed her sword, motioning for the remaining grounders to do the same. Clarke placed her hand on Bellamy's arm and he lowered his gun.

Hours later, when Lincoln was ready to move, they returned to their respective camps, Lexa granting Clarke a truce, in return for Finn.

When she returned to camp, Clarke walked blindly to Bellamy's quarters, not fully realising where she was going until she had knocked on the door, just knowing she needed him right now.

He pulled open the door and was glad to see Clarke until he saw how shaken she was. He wrapped an arm around her protectively and sat them on his bed, frantically trying to work out what was wrong and how he could fix it.

'What happened?' He asked her gently, voice laced with concern.

'Lexa.' Clarke's voice was faint, her eyes worryingly distant. Bellamy's armed wrapped tighter around her shoulders. 'She wants Finn.'

Bellamy frowned confused before he realised what she meant. 'Blood must have blood.' He intoned darkly. 'They want him to pay for what he did to the grounder village.'

Clarke closed her eyes as a tear fell down her cheek. Bellamy felt an icy fist close around his heart as Clarke cried for Finn, cried for the boy she fell in love with on the ground. He dropped his arm and stood up, running a hand through his hair roughly. He ached to comfort Clarke but couldn't deny who she was crying for, she wanted Finn to console her, not him.

Immediately missing his presence Clarke opened her eyes again, blinking away the tears in her eyes. His whole body was wracked with tension and his face was all hard lines and supressed emotion. It had been weeks since she'd seen him so on edge.

'Bellamy?' Clarke voice was uncertain as she looked up at him from where she sat. 'What is it?' It made sense for him to be upset about the impending death of their friend, just as she was, but this was something much more. Clarke flipped back over the immediate events, searching for a reason for his anger but could find nothing.

'I…' Bellamy trailed off, unable to even finish the sentence. He what? He didn't even know, all he knew was that he had to get away before he broke down. Without another word he turned and walked abruptly from the room, avoiding Clarke's eyes.

'Bellamy!' She called after him but he didn't turn. She moved to go after him, but she knew him, she knew he would want some time alone to handle his emotions. Returning to sit on the bed she felt the shock wash over her. Finn was going to die and now Bellamy was hurting too?

After an hour of waiting, Bellamy still hadn't returned to his room, so Clarke went in search of Octavia. She found her in the medical bay with Lincoln, but as she entered, Octavia glanced at her before looking away harshly. Bellamy had already been here it seemed.

'Octavia.' The girl ignored her. 'Octavia talk to me, what's wrong with Bellamy.'

Finally the girl turned to look up at Clarke, eyes narrowed. 'Do you care?'

'What kind of a question is that?' Clarke's voice was harsh with frustration. 'Of course I care, where is he?'

Octavia assessed the girl, taking in her dishevelled appearance and her eyes tight with worry. She knew Bellamy had to have been wrong.

'He's in my quarters.' Clarke turned immediately to go to him but froze at Octavia's shout. 'Wait. Clarke.'

She turned back around, frowning at the serious expression on Octavia's face. 'He thinks you're upset because you're still in love with Finn. He thinks he's lost you.' Octavia's voice was flat, 'I tried to reason with him but he's on the verge of being heartbroken.'

Clarke's expression was shocked, 'I don't, I'm not.' In that moment Clarke knew that what she was feeling was true, and she had to find Bellamy to let him know.

Running to Octavia's quarters she burst in the door without knocking, startling Bellamy where he sat at the table. He jumped up but stopped when he saw it was Clarke, pulling shutters across his face, hiding his emotions the way he hadn't done around Clarke in weeks. Even though she now understood, and knew she could make it right, it still hurt her to think that Bellamy no longer trusted her.

'That's why you're upset?' She exploded, throwing her arms out. 'You think I'm still in love with Finn?' Clarke asked exasperatedly.

Bellamy's face tightening, but he made no move to accept or deny what she said, merely stood, body rigid with the effort of controlling himself. Taking a breath to calm down she moved towards him gently, coming to a stop right in front of him, peering up into his face. Bellamy's fists were clenched as his expression was hard, jaw set fiercely, eyes burning into the ground. Slowly, Clarke reached up and placed her hands either side of Bellamy's face, forcing him to look at her, his dark eyes softening at the expression on her face, but it didn't stop the aching in his heart.

'Bellamy.' Her voice was soft, and her eyes pleaded with him to listen to her, to understand. 'I'm not still in love with Finn.' He searched her face desperately. 'I'm in love with you.'

Bellamy didn't move, but his eyes burned into hers. After a moment he crushed her to him and kissed her with a passion Clarke had never felt before. All at once she felt him let go of all the pain and hurt and anger he had been holding, she felt it leave, replaced with joy and relief and love.

After what seemed like an eternity but at the same time not even close to long enough, they broke apart, panting. Bellamy rested his forehead against hers, the same way he had done in the forest and sighed, his breath stroking across her cheek and down her neck, leaving a trail of goose bumps down her arms.

'I love you too Clarke.'

Her heart leapt at the words and she didn't even try and suppress the smile that tugged at her lips.

'I'm sorry.' She said quietly, still distressed for causing him so much pain.

'No I'm sorry, I should have trusted you, not let myself get so jealous. I never should have doubted you. I just got lost in my head.'

Clarke closed the distance between them and kissed him again, showing him how much she loved him again and again and again.


	17. Chapter 17

*Shout out to my Irish readers! My flatmates and I are going to Ireland this summer! We want to go to Dublin and Kerry – I love Southern Ireland, my family and I used to visit family there all the time when I was younger. Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review!*

That evening Clarke and Bellamy found Abby by the mess hall, but before they could go somewhere to talk over the truce Lexa offered, a crowd of people built up out of nowhere, demanding to know what the grounders had said. When they heard that they wanted Finn, ripples of disquiet raced through the crowd, followed quickly by shouts.

'I say we give him to them.'

'I'm not dying for him.'

Raven launched herself at a man who stepped forward and offered to throw Finn out himself.

'Raven stop.' Clarke moved to help but Bellamy's hand wrapped around her arm firmly, pulling her closer to him gently. Looking up at his face she knew they were both thinking back to what Bellamy had said to her, back when they were deciding what to do about the grounder attack at the first camp _'crowds make bad choices.'_ He wasn't going to let her get hurt in this hysteria.

As the shouts and threats continued Raven grew more and more irate, lashing out at the crowd before being subdued and taken away to the lock up by a number of guards. Abby led the rest of their small group inside the council chambers and talks began. After hours of discussion however, no decision had been made, the meeting was adjourned and Finn slipped away behind Abby, leaving Clarke and Bellamy to mull over what had been said.

'This is insane.' Bellamy came to stand next to Clarke. She reached for his hand and threaded their fingers together with a sigh.

'I know.' She stepped forward and leant her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart through his top. Bellamy's arms came up around her and they stood for a while, holding each other, memorising every part of the other as they moulded together, and Clarke was reminded of a line from an old book her mother had on the Ark called Wuthering Heights. 'Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.'

Finn had made her feel special, but Bellamy made her feel extraordinary, like there was no one else on earth but her and him, she trusted him with everything, in a way she had never been able to trust Finn.

'We can't let him die.' Clarke's voice was muffled against Bellamy's chest. 'He's all Raven has.'

'We won't.' Bellamy said determinedly, holding her closer to him. 'We just need a plan.'

Ten minutes later they walked out of the chambers together, finding Finn on the outskirts of the camp, sat next to Murphy.

'Hey.' Bellamy's deep voice interrupted them, but Finn's eyes found Clarke's. Of course they were together. He was overcome with as much bitterness as he always was as he saw Clarke's eyes flit to Bellamy's affectionately, barely registering him anymore. He couldn't accept that he had lost Clarke. He loved her just as much as he loved Raven. 'We're reinforcing all our defences, doubles on the perimeter. No one's getting past that wire.'

Finn's eyes slid to Bellamy's and bitterness turned to jealousy. He should have seen the way Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other from the start, he had been right to question why Clarke suddenly trusted him. He stood up, facing Bellamy and Clarke. 'I'll see where they're thin.'

'No.' Bellamy's voice was firm, it was clear he and Clarke had already made a decision. 'You should head inside. B corridor would be easier to defend, if it comes to that.' Bellamy glanced at Clarke, but she was already looking at him, making it so much harder for Finn to take orders from him.

'I'm not gonna hide.' Finn said stubbornly. He was damned if Bellamy was going to make him look like a coward too.

'Right now we have to think about keeping you safe.' Clarke said and Finn smiled at her, attempting to look loving, to show Bellamy that their fight wasn't over, but Clarke barely even glanced at him before turning away, addressing Bellamy. 'I'm going to talk to Lincoln.'

Bellamy nodded down at her and gestured for them to leave together. As an afterthought he said over his shoulder to Finn 'come on.' He clenched his jaw at the command but followed.

At the medical bay Clarke left to talk to Lincoln, brushing her hand on Bellamy's arm as a goodbye. He turned to talk to Finn about their plan for him for the next few days but the boy cut him off. 'She still loves me.'

'I'm sorry?' Bellamy's voice was dangerously low.

'You heard me. She still loves me, look how hard she's fighting for my life. Tell that doesn't make you jealous. Tell me thought of us together doesn't make you jealous.' Finn stared at Bellamy, goading him. But unlike Finn, he could control his emotions, letting them simmer under the surface.

'You lost her the day Raven came to the ground and you know it. Don't blame me for your mistakes, just know that I'll never do what you did.'

Before Finn could retaliate Bellamy turned and marched away, after a while he glanced over his shoulder and saw Finn slinking into one of the storage rooms. He met Clarke as she was leaving the medical bay, and told her where to find Finn, but he didn't tell her what the boy had said, she had enough to deal with right now, he would tell her later.

Clarke leant up to press a kiss to his cheek before turning and following Finn. Although Bellamy didn't like the idea of the two of them alone after what Finn had said, he trusted Clarke and their feelings for each other.

Clarke stepped into the storage room to find Finn packing a bag on the floor.

'Finn? Bellamy told me you were here.' Finn looked up but judging by the lack of rage in her eyes, that was all Bellamy had told her. Which meant he hadn't provoked a reaction from Bellamy as he had hoped. 'What are you doing?'

'I have to go.'

'Where? There's nowhere to go, there are grounders everywhere, they'll kill you.'

'Maybe that's what I deserve,' he looked at Clarke with a pitiful expression on her face, waiting for her to defend him the way he knew she would. But she didn't, he tried again 'for what I've done.'

'You were trying to find our people, to save us.' There was something in Finn's slightly wild, desperate expression that was putting Clarke on edge.

She wasn't getting it. Finn realised he would have to actually say it, if Clarke was going to do what he wanted. He didn't stop to think about why it was so important to him that Clarke fall back in love with him, didn't consider that it was driven more by a possessive jealousy and desire to rub the knowledge in Bellamy's smug face, than by any feelings he still had for Clarke.

'I was trying to save you, Clarke.'

'Finn.' Clarke warned, shaking her head.

'I'm in love with you.' Finn watched for her reaction and was disappointed to see that it was minimal.

Clarke instantly thought back to when Bellamy had said those words just a few hours earlier, and knew who she preferred to hear them from. When Bellamy had said it his voice was rough with emotion, when Finn said it, it sounded rehearsed.

'Everything that's happened, everything I've done, all that matters is that you're ok, that you forgive me.' Still Clarke stood, watching him as he recited his lines. 'Say something.' Finn's voice became unsure now, the first sign of actual emotion Clarke had seen since she walked into the room. She realised that Finn was playing a part, that he was toying with her, trying to get her back, but not because he truly loved her. He was doing it because he couldn't bear the thought of her with someone else.

Before she could even begin to tell him how much happier she was with Bellamy, a loud chanting reached their ears. The grounders were tired of waiting. 'Get inside.' She said to Finn, voice flat. Without another word she turned and left the room, she knew Finn was following her so she walked to B corridor first, leaving him outside before going to find Bellamy.

He was by the council chambers, and the way he searched her face as she approached told her that he knew Finn was going to try and win her back, she wondered what taunting things he had said to Bellamy distantly. She wasn't upset that he hadn't told her, she knew he was only trying to protect, that he didn't want her to worry.

She walked to him, but didn't stop until she was millimetres from him. 'I love you' she whispered, standing on tip toe and pressing her lips to his. He moved with her, deepening the kiss and Bellamy understood, Finn had tried, and failed, to win Clarke over, but for some reason, she wanted him.

Stepping back Clarke moved to stand by Abby, who was trying to supress her shock at the open display of affection between her daughter and Bellamy. She was pleased, but still surprised.

'Sorry,' Clarke smiled abashedly, 'I'll explain later.'

'No need,' Abby smiled back affectionately, 'I've known you loved him for weeks.'

'They're trying to scare us.' Bellamy's deep voice interrupted them.

'Maybe we should pull back, go inside the station?' Abby smile faded, her expression turning serious.

'No, we need to prove we're not afraid.'

'What if I am?'

'Fake it.' Clarke's tone was almost teasing and Abby's mouth turned in a small smile. She reached for her daughters hand and nodded. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the gate. Clarke followed behind, and she passed him, Bellamy glanced at her before followed behind too.

They halted a few meters from the gate, allowing Abby to approach the two grounders on horseback that Lexa had left at the gate to collect Finn.

'Open the gate.' Her mother's voice reached her and Clarke was proud of the strength within it. 'We are not giving up the boy, and we are prepared to fight if it comes to that.'

Suddenly the sound of a horn filled the air, and the two riders turned and rode back to the grounder camp without another word. Clarke and Bellamy glanced at each other, confusion on their faces.

'Watch the woods,' Bellamy yelled, 'watch for movement.' The guards cocked their guns, scanning the tree line.

'Bellamy.' Whispered Clarke, nodding to a point a little to the right of them as a guard called out that there was something there.

'Don't shoot.' A distant cry made their way to them, and a man wearing their armour emerged from the undergrowth. 'Don't shoot.' Kane's voice was clearer as he approached, and Bellamy lowered his gun, followed by a few of the guard. Marcus Kane reached Abby and they exchanged a few words, too quiet for Clarke to hear before turning to the rest of the camp. He had been beaten but not too badly, and didn't appear to be bleeding.

'You can't be out in open, we need to get somewhere safe.' Bellamy's voice was cautious, still wary with the gate open. Clarke felt a rush of affection, he was always trying to protect everyone. Together they walked to Kane, and he smiled as they approached.

'It's safe, for the moment.' Kane certainly didn't seem worried, Clarke frowned in confusion. 'Come on, we need to talk, I managed to buy us a bit of time.'

Bellamy looked to Clarke, judging what she was thinking, before gesturing for them to walk with Kane and Abby to the council chambers. As they walked Clarke was struck by how grateful she was for Bellamy's solid presence at her side, unaware that Bellamy was thinking the same thing. Raven saw the procession and joined them from the mess hall.

Leaving Bellamy, Clarke and Raven outside, inside the chambers Kane explained about his time kept inside the camp, and his belief that Lexa would be open to them trying Finn themselves, in the camp, instead of handing him over to the grounders. It would be a mercy killing, but a killing none the less.

From what they could gather though, they knew Finn was going to die either way. Raven turned to Clarke and Bellamy, begging them to save them. Clarke nodded to Bellamy and as always, he understood. They would try and save Finn, for Raven.

They found him in B corridor and Bellamy explained that they were taking him to the drop ship.

'We're surrounded by grounders.' Clarke pointed out gently.

'We'll split up, take the low ground, we'll make it.' Bellamy said confidently, impressing Clarke with the plan he had managed to come up with so quickly.

Finn's lip curled in displeasure at the admiration in Clarke's eyes as she listened to Bellamy's plan, but couldn't argue that it was a good plan. Before they could leave, a small group of men approached them, two armed with metal piping.

'There he is,' Raven recognised the man who had threatened to throw Finn to the grounders himself. 'You are gonna get us killed.' He raised the thick metal threateningly, charging at Finn, who hid behind Clarke. Before he could get close enough to take a swing at her Bellamy threw the butt of his rifle into the man's stomach, hard. He crumpled to the floor.

'Anyone else?' He yelled, checking that Clarke was ok, sending Finn a hard look as he moved from behind Clarke sheepishly. The men stepped back nervously.

'Bellamy's right, we have to go.' Clarke reached a hand and rested it inbetween Bellamy's shoulder blades as she passed him, Finn in tow. Sending one last glare to the dispersing men, he followed behind her.

They left individually, Bellamy and Clarke promising each other that they would be safe, wrapped in each other's arms, and headed to the drop ship, careful to avoid both the sky people and the grounders.


	18. Chapter 18

*Shout out to my Russian readers! I've never visited but I would love to go to St Petersburg at some point, thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review*

*Also this was a really tough chapter to write, I hope I did it justice*

Bellamy and Raven arrived at the drop ship within half an hour of each other, but there was no sign of Clarke and Finn. Trying not to panic, Bellamy set about pacing the drop ship to distract himself. Half an hour later and it hadn't worked.

'Where are they?'

'We shouldn't have split up.' Raven said, voicing the guilt that had been plaguing Bellamy. Heavy footsteps, too heavy to be Clarke, told them someone was coming. Bellamy swung the gun from over his shoulder and aimed for the silhouette moving towards the drop ship. With tense shoulders he clicked the safety off the rifle as the figure reached out an arm to push aside the material covering the drop ship door revealing…Murphy.

Bellamy sighed, disappointed, but he didn't lower the gun, maintaining his stance his emotions shifted to confused, and wary. 'What are you doing here?'

Murphy eyed cautiously him before motioning to Raven. 'I believe I was invited.'

Bellamy lowered his rifle and turned to the girl, his hard eyes demanding an explanation.

'I thought we could use an extra gun.' She shrugged casually, and after a pause, Bellamy nodded his reluctant agreement before resuming his restless pacing.

Bellamy was frantic by the time Finn burst into the drop ship, an unconscious Clarke in his arms. He was by her side immediately, hand cupping the back of her head where it was lolling over Finn's arm. His stomach turned as he saw the bloody gash on the side of her head, her golden hair stained dark red.

'What happened?' he demanded wildly, taking some of Clarke's weight from Finn. The two of them carried her across the floor of the drop ship as Finn spoke.

'Grounder, hit her in the head.' He was breathing heavily, Bellamy guessed Finn had carried her a long way, and was grateful for the boy for the first time pretty much since they had landed on the ground.

'Put her over here.' Murphy had laid down a few sheets that had been left behind in the ship and Bellamy felt the same unfamiliar gratitude for the boy who had tried to kill him.

His voice was tinged with a desperate fear as he cried, 'I need a, a, a bandage, a rag anything.' He knew he was panicking but he couldn't stop himself, Clarke was hurt and he should have been there to protect her. Murphy ripped material from one of the sheets and handed it to Bellamy wordlessly, who placed it carefully on her wound, laying her head down gently to stem the bleeding before crouching next to her, brushing the hair from her face.

'Clarke,' his voice was jagged with emotion, 'can you hear me?'

She didn't respond. He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone as he continued to call her name, heart leaping as her eyes finally fluttered open and she groaned quietly.

'Clarke,' he breathed in relief. She looked up at him, face creased in pain. 'You're gonna be fine.' He repeated it over and over again, stroking her hair and her face, until it wasn't clear who he was reassuring. 'You just need to rest.'

Bellamy sent the other three outside to watch for grounders, whilst he stayed crouched by her side for an hour as she slept, cleaning the blood away. He then spent another hour after she woke up refusing to let her move until the bleeding had stopped and her dizziness cleared. He had noticed that as soon as they had laid Clarke down, Finn had stepped back from Clarke and moved to stand by Raven, and his lip curled in disgust - as soon as Raven was in the room Finn's supposedly undying love for Clarke seemed to, well, die.

'I'm so sorry Clarke.' Bellamy's fingers moved from twisting strands of her hair, to trace patterns across the back of Clarke's hand, 'I should have been there.'

Turning her hand she gripped his fingers, stilling them, and looked up at Bellamy fiercely. 'This was not your fault.' Her voice was clear and unwavering.

'I should never have suggested splitting up, I should have been by your side, I never would have let this happen.'

Clarke moved to sit up and instantly Bellamy's arm was around her back, supporting her weight. He shifted so she could lean against him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

'Bellamy,' Clarke's voice was no more than a whisper, 'a grounder did this, not you. And it doesn't even matter, because I'm fine. I promised you I would be here didn't I?'

'I should have made you promise to get here unharmed.' Bellamy smiled, some of his guilt lifting as he realised she was right, she was going to be fine. Still, he vowed to never let anything like this happen again. Next time she was in danger, they would be together.

Murphy's shout interrupted them 'we've got company, get out here.'

'Stay here.' Bellamy told Clarke as he picked up his gun and left the drop ship, knowing Clarke would follow behind him. Sure enough, he heard her soft footsteps approaching him where he was crouched outside the drop ship. 'You're so stubborn,' he said, smiling lopsidedly, 'stay low.' She crouched beside him, eyeing the grounders as they moved in the trees around the camp.

'We're surrounded.' She noted with dismay.

'They're not moving any closer.' Murphy muttered from where he was crouched on the other side of the drop ship doors.

'They're staying out of range, they'll be waiting until it's dark.' Bellamy muttered to her.

The five of them stayed crouched, guns on the trees for half an hour, discussing their options intently, so intently that it wasn't until Raven cried out that they noticed Finn had left his position and was at the gate.

Clarke stood up in shock, 'Finn,' she cried as Bellamy stood up as well, preparing to pull her back if she ran after him, but she stayed by his side.

'Finn, no!' Raven's voice was shrill, 'Finn' she screamed, she tried to run to him but she could never had made it in time, before she had taken more than a few steps half a dozen grounders were there, dragging Finn out of the camp.

It was over in an instant, leaving the other four at varying levels of shocked. Forcing her frozen legs to move, Clarke walked unsteadily over to Raven, who had crumpled to the floor as Finn had been hauled away. She lay curled on her side, but she wasn't crying, she was too numb. When Clarke approached she sat up, pulling her face into an expression of determination.

'We need to get him back.'

Clarke looked over Raven's shoulder to Bellamy and saw that his face matched the uncertainty in her own, before she looked back at the girl in front of her who had once told her that Finn was all she had. She had to try, for Raven, she just hoped Bellamy would understand.

They returned to camp quickly, not worried about the threat of the grounders now that they had what they wanted. When they arrived Clarke found Abby and filled her in quickly. By the time the night fell, jeers and shouts from the grounder camp had been reaching them for hours, and the sky people gathered by the fence to do the only thing they could do – watch.

Clarke stood, Raven on her right, Bellamy on her left, eyes scanning the vast grounder camp, illuminated by thousands of torches, from their position behind the electric fence they could see the grounders building a pyre directly in front of Camp Jaha. The grounders wanted them to watch as they killed Finn.

Clarke could hear Bellamy trying to persuade Kane to authorise an attack on the grounders, and Raven begging Abby, her voice shaking with effort of holding back tears, but she knew what they would say before they could even say it. It was too late.

Bellamy saw Clarke turn to him and give him a meaningful look before walking away from the group, he followed wordlessly, and they strode through camp, towards the gate.

'What are you thinking?' Bellamy knew the look in Clarke's eyes, she was about to do something that would potentially get her killed.

'I'm going to talk to the commander.'

'What else do you have to say?' 'I don't know, ok, I don't know.' It came out harsher than she meant it to. Clarke came to halt, Bellamy almost bumping into the back of her 'I'm sorry' she said quietly.

Bellamy turned her around, his expression gentle, but conflicted. He couldn't just let her walk, unarmed, into the grounder camp and try and rob them of their version of justice. They'd never allow it.

'Clarke,' but before he could try and persuade her to stay, they heard Raven's voice.

'Give me your hand.'

Clarke turned to the girl in surprise, they hadn't even realised that she had followed them. She stretched out her hand towards Raven, who gripped her wrist and slid a small knife into Clarke's sleeve, concealing it next to her forearm. 'If she won't let him go, kill her.' Raven's face was grimly determined, and the desperation in her eyes worried Clarke. 'Things will go crazy, and we'll grab you and Finn.' Clarke nodded once but turned to Bellamy, 'Clarke,' Raven's voice was growing more frantic, 'you have to help him. I owe him my life.'

Bellamy stepped forward carefully and took Clarke's arm, leading her away from Raven, who took the hint and backed away from them until they were out of earshot.

'You can't kill the commander.' Looking down at her, Bellamy's voice was firm, but Clarke wasn't arguing.

'I know, it would start a war.' Distractedly, Clarke looked over the grounder camp again, mapping the quickest route to the commander's tent; the red material standing out, even in the dark, before she realised that Bellamy was looking at her intently.

'Clarke, why…' He trailed off, afraid of the answer he might receive, but Clarke knew what he was trying to ask.

'For Raven. She told me once that Finn was all she had. I have to do something.'

Bellamy looked down at Clarke and saw the truth in her eyes. Pulling her to him he sighed, in both relief and acceptance.

Pushing aside the fear and almost overwhelming sense of futility, Clarke lay her head against his chest and focused on the man in front of her, the man she loved, for a moment, before her thoughts were dragged back to rescuing Finn.

'I love you.' Bellamy's voice was low, and she stepped out of his arms reluctantly. Looking up at him, Clarke reached a hand up to brush against his jaw, memorising every detail of his face, just in case.

'I love you too.'

Blue and brown met and their eyes made a thousand promises that they were too fearful to voice. Then, before she could do something stupid like cry, Clarke turned and slipped out of the gate, glancing over her shoulder one last time, vowing to herself that she would be back in his arms, no matter what happened next.

Walking through the grounder camp Clarke kept her shoulders back and her head high. A sea of grounders parted before her, leading the way to Lexa's tent. Finally Clarke reached the tent, but her path was blocked by the grounder woman with the scarred face – Indra.

Bellamy watched as the grounder moved to block Clarke's path, deadly looking spear pointed at her stomach. His jaw clenched as Clarke took a step forward, so the tip of the spear pressed into her skin.

The metal was cold through Clarke's thin top, but she ignored it, meeting Indra's eyes unwaveringly. 'I'm here to talk to your commander.'

The grounder didn't even blink, maintaining her post. Clarke was running out of time. She took another step forward, feeling the tip of the spear slice the skin of her abdomen, blood beginning to pool. 'Let me through.' Clarke demanded firmly, eyes hard.

Indra eyed Clarke with an almost begrudging respect, but before Clarke could decide if Indra would comply, Lexa stepped from her tent, armour glinting fiercely in the torchlight.

'Let her pass.' Indra leant back at the order, removing her spear and, finally, stepping out of Clarke's way.

Bellamy felt some of the tension slide off him as the grounder stepped away from Clarke, and she moved towards Lexa. He knew of the growing alliance between the two women, that they both respected the other, and both knew that they wanted the same things. He trusted that Lexa would at least listen to Clarke, and wouldn't have her killed without good reason, unlike the rest of the grounders.

Clarke came to a stop in front of Lexa, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated.

'You bleed for nothing.' Lexa's voice was detached. 'You cannot stop this.'

'No, only you can.' Clarke told her, allowing her emotions to carry the words.

Lexa seemed to consider Clarke's statement, but they were interrupted by the wild shouts of the grounders as they rippled through the tent, commotion building as a crowd began to form some distance from them. Moments later Clarke knew why, Finn had been led through the camp and was being taken to the pyre, just fifteen feet from where she stood.

Their eyes met and Clarke had to force herself not to look away from the scene as dread settled over her. Her time was almost up.

Bellamy's attention shifted as the grounders became more agitated, cried and shouts echoing through their camp, originating from a fast building crowd that was moving towards where Clarke stood. His fists clenched anxiously, but he soon realised that the grounders weren't marching to Clarke, they were leading Finn to his death.

Clarke turned back to Lexa, mind racing. 'Show my people how powerful you are. Show them you can be merciful. Show them you're not a savage.'

For a second, Clarke thought she might have gotten through to Lexa, but in an instant she knew she had been wrong. The commander's face became closed, and her eyes fell on Finn, being tied to the pyre as they spoke.

'We are what we are.' She said coldly, and Clarke felt her heart drop.

'Then I'm a killer.' She cried. 'I burned three hundred of your people. I slit a man's throat and watched him die. I am soaked in grounder blood.' Lexa's face turned to Finn, expressionless and Clarke's mind was filled with the image of Raven sobbing, her heart broken. 'Take me.' The words were out of her mouth before she could help it, and suddenly the image became one of Bellamy, tears falling silently down his face and he struggled with his emotions, rage crashing together with grief.

Finally, Lexa turned back to Clarke and she knew that her mind had been made up. 'But Finn is guilty.'

'No.' Clarke breathed. She had failed.

Bellamy watched the grounders tie Finn to the pyre as Clarke and Lexa talked, time passing agonisingly slowly, and a feeling of hopelessness settled over him.

'Come on Clarke, do it.' Raven's voice was low but resolute as she urged Clarke to kill Lexa, causing Bellamy's jaw to clench as fear wracked his body. She had said she wouldn't, but he knew that Clarke wouldn't think twice about dying for her friends. This though, this would achieve nothing.

Clarke's eyes dropped from Lexa's expressionless face. She couldn't save Finn's life. She turned to look at him before her eyes slid back to the commanders, her jaw set. She couldn't save him, but that didn't mean she would let the grounders kill him.

'Can I say goodbye?' Clarke allowed her grief to soak her words, and was rewarded by seeing Lexa's eyes flicker uncertainly, before she nodded once.

Steeling herself, Clarke walked over to the pyre. Finn's eyes met hers, searching for good news, but she could tell the moment he found none. The hope died from his eyes and he nodded once in grim acceptance.

'What is she doing?' Raven's voice was tinged with hope, but Bellamy knew that Lexa hadn't pardoned Finn – the grounders were too quiet. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what Clarke was doing, his memory skipping back to Atom, dying on the forest floor, before he could stop it.

Clarke stopped right in front of Finn, and reached out to grip his shoulder tightly. 'I'm so sorry, I tried.' Her voice shook.

'Tell Bellamy he doesn't deserve you.' Finn tried to joke, but Clarke felt her eyes fill with tears. 'I didn't deserve you. I'm sorry.' His eyes found hers and she could see they were filled with regret.

'I forgive you. I just hope you can forgive me.' Clarke's voice cracked. 'I tried.' She said again.

'I know,' he smiled sadly, 'I'm scared.'

Clarke could barely see through the tears filling her eyes as she stepped forward to pull Finn into a hug, wincing at the gasp he let out as Raven's knife buried into his abdomen.

'You're ok.' She gulped, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

'Forgive me' she thought desperately, seeking pardon from Finn, from Raven, Bellamy, her mother. But she knew the hardest would be to pardon herself.

'Thanks Princess.' Finn breathed painfully.

A burning sob escaped Clarke's chest as she felt Finn slip away, his head falling onto her shoulder. After a moment she pulled away, the knife she gripped in her hand sliding out of Finn's stomach silently. She had failed. She couldn't save him, now Raven was alone and there was a hole in her heart where the boy she had once started to fall in love with had been.

Numbly, Clarke saw the grounders begin to run at her, Indra's spear raised once more, but Lexa's outstretched arm stopped them.

'It is done.' Her voice was loud and clear, and although enraged, the grounders lowered their weapons.

Clarke turned her tear stained face to where she knew the rest of her people had seen what she had done, to where Bellamy was.

The night was pierced by the sounds of Raven keening, screaming in an all-consuming grief, and Clarke's heart ripped apart, in a way that was becoming too familiar to her. Bellamy caught her as she crumpled to the ground, holding her as she sobbed.

His shock had passed and now, as he watched Clarke standing next to Finn's body, his only thought was of her.


	19. Chapter 19

*Shout out to my Norwegian readers! I'm spending Christmas this year in Norway with my family, we're so excited! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review*

Clarke sat alone on a cushioned bench in Lexa's tent, she had no idea how long she had been there, all she could do was sit in silence and stare at Finn's blood on her hands, numb to everything else. Suddenly, the sight became too much. Her skin crawled and she knew she had to get it off, she had to rid herself of the blood she was responsible for. Scrubbing at her hands roughly she didn't even realise she was sobbing until she felt strong arms wrap around her, and suddenly her loud sobs reached her ears. He sat next to her, holding her close.

'Bellamy? What are you doing here?' Clarke asked between ragged breaths.

'How could you think I wouldn't come?' She could feel Bellamy's voice reverberating through his chest, comforting her.

Truthfully, she couldn't think at all, wouldn't let herself, but she couldn't find the words to tell him, so Clarke let herself fall against him instead. Closing her eyes as he took their weight, leaning back into the make shift sofa, she curled up against him, leaning her head in the crook of his neck as he pulled her legs over his lap, and she cried.

Slowly her crying eased and Clarke sat up a little, finding she could talk. Her voice was rough from crying and kept breaking. 'They would have tortured him. I had to. I had to do it.' Hysteria started to rise in her voice again and Bellamy ran a hand through her hair, shifting to look down at her, meeting her eyes.

'I know. I know.'

'What did I do?' She stared up at him desperately.

Just then, Lexa's right hand man, the huge grounder that Clarke had already encountered, entered the tent. Wiping her tears away Clarke stood, followed by Bellamy who placed a hand on her back. She had to be strong now.

'The commander is ready talk.' Gustus said solemnly.

Lexa walked into her tent, followed by Indra and two other grounders, Clarke supposed this made up her close council. Behind them came Abby and Kane. Rushing to her daughter Abby pulled Clarke into a tight hug before stepping back wordlessly, standing at her other side, Kane beside her. Clarke supposed that this was her small council.

Lexa sat on her throne and looked down at Clarke, expression serious. 'Blood has answered blood. Some on my side say that's not enough, they wanted the murderer to suffer as our tradition demands. But they do not know that your suffering will be worse. What you did today will haunt you until the end of your days.'

Clarke bit back tears as she felt Bellamy shift closer to her, brushing his fingers against hers.

'Still,' continued Lexa, 'there will be restitution. The body will be given to the people of Tondc. Murderer and murdered joined by fire. Only then can we have peace.'

Clarke could feel Bellamy straining to argue, but she brushed her fingers against his in response.

It was Kane who disputed Lexa's demands. 'No, no we've done enough. The boy should be buried by his own people.'

'Enough?' Spat Indra. 'We were owed the pain of eighteen deaths, we were owed our righteous kill. My village deserves justice.'

'You don't want justice,' Abby said, narrowing her eyes dangerously, 'you want vengeance.'

'You have not seen my vengeance.' Snarled Indra, stepping towards her.

'We'll do it.' Clarke interrupted, moving in front of Lexa, blocking Indra's path to her mother at the same time. 'But when it's over we talk about how to get our people out of Mount Weather. All of our people.'

Bellamy was reminded all over again of why he had fallen in love with Clarke. She was grieving, and yet was still fighting for the lives of the rest of the 100. She was the strongest person he knew, and his heart filled with pride.

'We want the same things Clarke.' Said Lexa calmly, but Bellamy couldn't help but disagree.

'Good, when do we leave.' Said Clarke determinedly.

'Now. Choose you attendants.' Bellamy blinked in surprise.

Lexa walked out the tent, flanked by the rest of the grounders, and Abby turned to Clarke. 'You don't have to do this.' She said, desperate to protect her daughter, but Bellamy knew there was no way of changing her mind, Clarke needed to do this.

'Yes I do' she said firmly, before following Lexa out into the camp, Bellamy at her side.

Raven was kneeling by Finn's body as they approached. Clarke squeezed Bellamy's hand, indicating for him to wait, before walking over. Raven didn't even look up. 'Go away.' Her voice shook with barely controlled hatred.

'Raven I'm sorry.' Clarke's heart was in a vice.

'I said go away.' Cried Raven, standing up and storming to where Clarke stood, eyes flashing dangerously even through her tears.

'I know how hard this must be for you,' Clarke fought to keep her emotions out of her voice, 'but I'm leaving with the grounders, and I need you to keep working on the radio.'

Raven's eyes narrowed, disbelief mingling with the betrayal Clarke knew she was feeling. Before she could respond, however, two grounders walked over, picking up Finn's body roughly. Raven spun around.

'What are you doing?' She cried furiously.

'They need to take him now.' Clarke reached for Raven's arm. She wasn't thinking straight and Clarke knew the grounders would have no qualms hurting someone trying to protect the murdered they all wanted to see punished.

'Get off me.' Raven snarled, yanking her arm out of her grip. 'Like hell they do, get off!' Clarke winced at the hurt that shot through her. She knew that Raven was lashing out, that she blamed Clarke, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Raven's hatred for her just made it harder to escape her own.

'Just give us a minute, please?' Clarke implored the grounders, who fortunately dropp their hold on Finn and backed off a little.

'Raven…' Clarke reached for her again but the girl shrugged her off violently.

'You agreed to this.' Her tone was poisonous as a tear tracked down her face.

Forcing her voice not to shake Clarke said calmly 'they're taking him back to the village where the massacre took place. There's a death ritual,' she explained, 'it's the only way to get our people out of Mount Weather.'

Raven struggled with herself before finally nodding, 'then I'm coming too, and don't worry I'll bring your damn radio.' She said bitterly, shrugging past Clarke, who had to step back to steady herself.

'Oh don't look at me like that.' She heard Raven yell angrily behind her. Moments later he was by her side, threading their fingers together as the grounders carried Finn away.

'It's ok.' He said softly, and she tried to believe him.

As she watched, Finn's eyes opened, staring directly at her, cold and unblinking. She took a sharp breath in, shocked, and saw Bellamy turn to look at her concerned.

'What is it?' He asked, looking for the danger, but Clarke just shook her head. It wasn't possible.

The walk back to camp seemed to drag on forever, yet, as Clarke approached the gate she wished that she was miles away. Wordlessly, Bellamy led her to his quarters, ignoring the hundreds of faces watching them, the fierce expression on his face deterring anyone in his path from stopping them.

Clarke sat on his bed, waiting until the door was shut and he was back by her side before she let herself break all over again.

Bellamy held her whilst she cried, letting her haltingly explain how she felt, even if she didn't understand what she was feeling herself. Guilt, anger, loss, bitterness, resentment, pain.

At some point they took their shoes and jackets off and lay down, and still he held her, whilst her tears mingled with her words. And as they drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, he held her closer, keeping her safe in his arms.

Clarke knew when Bellamy fell asleep, she felt his heartbeat slow again her chest, and his arm relax against her waist. For the first time in a long time, she didn't want to cry. Now she wanted to fall sleep with the man she loved, pressed against each other, so close that in the dim light it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. And so they slept, away from everything, just the two of them, together.


	20. Chapter 20

*Shout out to my reader 'bellarke and linctavia' I love your reviews thank you so much! This chapter's for you*

Clarke woke to Bellamy's strong arm still wrapped around her waist, holding her close, his face pressed into the crook of her neck, breath brushing across her shoulder blade. Their legs were entwined and as she felt the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back she knew there was nowhere else she'd rather be. If she had dreamt at all, she didn't remember it.

Too soon, everything came rushing back, shattering Clarke's peace. Sitting up with a sigh, she swung her legs over the bed, smiling at the groan of protest Bellamy let out as the rush of cold air hit his body. He rolled onto his back without opening his eyes.

'What time is it?' His deep voice was roughened with sleep, the sound sending a shiver of desire skipping down Clarke's spine.

She leant back down and pressed her lips against his softly. He opened one eye sleepily as she spoke, 'it's early, but we have to go with the grounders soon.'

Bellamy let out a huge sigh, throwing his arm over his eyes before sitting up behind Clarke. Resting his legs either side of Clarke's he ran his thumb over the strap of her top before pressing a kiss to the bare skin of her shoulder, making Clarke shiver.

'How do you feel?' His tone was gentle.

'Worried.' She replied honestly.

'It'll be fine, we'll work this out.'

Clarke lay her hand on his leg gratefully before rising and grabbing her jacket, 'I'll go get ready, meet you by the mess hall in half an hour?'

'Sounds like a plan.' Bellamy smiled, tugging a hand through his messy curls and Clarke felt her heart warm at the sight.

Catching her gaze Bellamy smiled lopsidedly, 'I know Princess, I'm gorgeous in the mornings, you don't have to stare.'

Clarke didn't fight it as her mouth stretched into a grin. 'Half an hour.' She repeated, stepping out of his quarters into the deserted corridor.

As soon as she was away from him, her cheerful ease slipped away, and she felt guilty for smiling when Raven was so heartbroken, when Finn was dead.

She packed with a heavy heart and made her way sombrely to the mess hall, she was early but Abby was already there. Clarke slid onto the stool next to her mother wordlessly, nodding as Abby squeezed her leg in reassurance.

'The grounders will be here in a few minutes, riders just arrived at the gates.'

Too nervous to eat, Clarke just sat, wrapped up in her thoughts, until she felt a warm body sit next to her, their knees knocking together.

'Bellamy' Abby acknowledged warmly.

'Good morning.' His deep voice soothed her fraught nerves and Clarke found herself automatically relaxing. It didn't last long though, as Lexa arrived on horseback, surrounded by a dozen grounders.

Sighing, they got to their feet and, joined by Marcus, Raven, Octavia and Lincoln, they left the camp, walking uneasily through the forest with the grounders.

Lost in her thoughts, Clarke didn't realise she had walked off ahead whilst Bellamy talked to Kane, until heard his footsteps behind her. Before he could reach her side a flash of colour in the trees caught her eye. Her heart stopped and she gasped in shock as she saw Finn standing amongst the trees, staring at her with the same cold, dead look as she had seen on his face as his body was taken away by the grounders. She blinked, hard. It wasn't real.

'Hey' Bellamy's voice stole her concentration and when she looked back at the trees, Finn was gone, 'you doing alright?'

'Yeah.' She lied, and Bellamy pursed his lips.

'You did the right thing.' His voice was assured. Clarke looked at him, praying that he meant it, and he met her gaze unwaveringly.

'Now I get to live with it.' She said sadly, and his mouth twisted in displeasure. 'You still think this truce is a bad idea don't you.' Bellamy blinked, he shouldn't have been surprised, but he had reasoned that, with so much going on, Clarke wouldn't have noticed his apprehension.

'I think we're wasting time with politics while our friends are in trouble.' Bellamy said firmly but gently, he didn't want Clarke to think that he wasn't supporting her. It was just that, in his experience, you couldn't put your trust in politics, especially not when lives were on the line.

'We need their army to get to Mount Weather Bellamy, and you know it.' True the army amassed hundreds, and the stronger their force the better, but Mount Weather had been built to endure a nuclear war, poorly armed grounders would be little match for it.

'Their army has been getting their ass kicked by Mount Weather forever,' Bellamy paused, knowing Clarke was going to hate what he was suggesting. 'What we need is an inside man, someone to be our eyes and ears.'

'Forget it, it's too dangerous.' Her eyes flashed.

'Clarke, if you can make it out, I can make it in.' He knew he had to try.

'I said no' her voice was firm, but fear tinted her words, and her expression was tight.

'Clarke…'

'I can't lose you too, ok?' Bellamy sighed, knowing the discussion was over, for now.

He didn't push it, and for that Clarke was glad. She couldn't even contemplate Bellamy's life being in danger, or worse, Bellamy dying, and especially not because of her, she just wasn't strong enough.

They walked until night fell, stopping to make camp in a patch of the forest once the last of the light had faded. The grounders watched the sky people warily from one side of the clearing, the sky people returned their mistrust.

Clarke walked almost to the centre of the small camp and started preparing her bed for the night, smiling as she heard Bellamy walk next to her and start doing the same, sighing good naturedly at her stubbornness. He positioned his bed roll inbetween the grounders and Clarke, throwing a warning glance over his shoulder, and as Abby watched the scene, worried for Clarke, her heart was warmed by the sight of the man next to her daughter, supporting her.

As they lay on their sides, facing each other, Bellamy and Clarke listened to the quiet conversations around them. Abby and Kane talked in low serious voices about Jaha and the camp. Bellamy and Octavia and Lincoln spoke of Lincoln's village and how they had ostracised him, and, haltingly, of his time held captive in Mount Weather. He was slowly opening up about what had happened.

After a while Bellamy's concentration shifted to the girl in front of him, face illuminated by the soft firelight, blue eyes distant. He stretched his hand out, lazily brushing the hair from her face and she sighed fin contentment. Eventually the scattered conversations died out and the camp fell asleep, thoughts already on the day ahead.

When Clarke woke she was on her side, legs tangled with Bellamy's her head was on his chest and her arm was flung over his middle. He lay on his back, one arm curled around Clarke, holding her tighter against his side. Slowly she raised her head and at the sleeping man. He looked younger in his sleep, especially with his curls and freckles, and Clarke couldn't help but notice how much more carefree he looked, without the hard expression his face usually wore, without the tension and stress he put upon himself. Slowly, dark brown eyes were looking at her, and she couldn't help but blush.

'Morning Princess.' Bellamy's low voice was roughened by sleep and, just like the morning before, Clarke felt desire shoot through her. She leant up and pressed a kiss to his lips. Bellamy rolled onto his side, gripping Clarke's waist and deepening the kiss, as she ran her hand up his body, coming to rest in his messy hair, tugging at it gently. She felt him smile through their kiss and the corner of her mouth lifted too. Breaking apart she gave him a wry grin.

'Morning.'

The camp was packed and moving again within an hour, and by midday they had arrived at the grounder camp Tondc. At the gate, the grounders received the sky people coldly, and demanded that they surrender their weapons. As Gustus approached the two of them to collect, Bellamy caught Clarke's eye, letting her know how much he objected to it, but complied. As they walked in the gate she brushed their fingers together. 'Thank you.' She whispered, knowing how reluctant he was to give up his best hope at defending her.

Clarke and Bellamy avoided drawing too much attention to their relationship, knowing that there were more important things to be focusing on, so after a few seconds they drew apart again by a few feet, and continued to follow Lexa into the camp.

They hadn't gotten more than a few feet before the shouts and jeers started, and Clarke understood the word 'murderers' in Trigedasleng. A grounder intercepted Lexa's path and began talking loudly, although Clarke did not understand many of the words, it was clear that the man was objecting to their presence. At Lexa's nod, Gustus began to attack the man, raining punches on him as he lay on the floor. Bellamy and Clarke shared a look before Clarke stepped up to Lexa, asking her to stop it.

The commander complied, offering a warning to the rest of the grounders; object to her decision to include the sky people in her army, and pay with your life.

'Warm welcome.' Bellamy noted tersely as Clarke reclaimed her place by his side.


	21. Chapter 21

*Shout out to my Polish readers! I would love to visit your country soon and I hope you're enjoying the story so far, thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review!*

The grounders led them to a clearing in a camp and Clarke saw the funeral pyre. Eighteen bodies had been prepared, leaving a space at the top of the pyre empty, for Finn. She swallowed.

The grounders positioned Finn's body and the ritual began. The sky people gathered around the pyre and listened to words they didn't understand, being spoken by the commander about one of their own. It was wrong, but it was necessary in order to secure an alliance. But this knowledge didn't help Raven, who stood away from Clarke, silent tears rolling down her face, which wore an expression of mingled anger, disgust and sadness, for both Clarke and herself.

Lincoln's gentle voice reached their ears as he translated the words Lexa called to her people. 'People of Tondc, in fire, we cleanse the pain of the past.'

Bellamy clenched his jaw and shifted closer to Clarke, so she felt the brush of his arm against hers. Indra handed Lexa a burning torch and she stepped closer to the pyre, but she hesitated before turning to look at Clarke before passing the torch to her, causing Indra to frown.

'Clarke,' But Lexa was interrupted by ripples of resentment and disapproval spreading through the grounders. Instead of continuing, she simply nodded at Clarke, who took a deep breath and stepped towards Lexa, accepting the torch, conscious of Bellamy's gaze on her.

She hesitated, but before she could turn to Bellamy she felt a cold hand ghost over hers and even without turning, she knew she would see Finn beside her. Feeling nauseous, Clarke lowered the torch to the pyre, watching without really seeing as the flames caught, as the wood began to flame. She offered a silent prayer to whoever was out there, that this would be the end of it, that Finn would stop haunting her for what she had done to try and protect him from being tortured,

'Yu gonplei ste odon.' Clarke said clearly, the tears in her eyes reflecting the dancing flames, and she was gratified to see surprise flow through the grounders. 'Your fight is over.'

The sky people watched sadly as the body of one of their own burned alongside those he had murdered, working to accept what had happened and what needed to happen in order to secure their alliance with the grounders, working to gain the closure they needed.

Later, when the fire had burnt out, Clarke and Lexa stood side by side next to the remains, and Lexa told Clarke of a woman, Costia, who had obviously meant a lot to her. But as she turned to Clarke, her eyes were cold.

'It's weakness.' Her voice was soft but icy.

'What is?' Clarke's forehead furrowed, 'love?'

Lexa nodded once.

Her mind was filled, first with thoughts of her father, Wells and Finn. She had loved them, differently yes, but she had loved them all, and they had all died. But then she saw an image of a man with tanned skin and messy, curly hair, a face adorned with freckles and deep brown eyes. Her love for Bellamy, and his love her, made them stronger, not weaker. He gave her strength when she needed it most, just like she did for him.

'So you just stopped caring? About everyone?' She asked Lexa, and she couldn't help but pity her as the commander nodded once again.

'I could never do that.' Clarke said, thinking about waking up in Bellamy's arms, thinking about her mother, her friends – the reason she was making this alliance in the first place, about Finn.

'Then you put the people you care about in danger, and the pain will never go away.' Lexa said staring ahead steadily.

The two groups met later that afternoon in a large, candle lit room. The space was mostly taken up by a large rectangular table, upon which a feast had been set with many dishes, some that the sky people didn't even recognise, but that looked and smelt amazing. The grounders stood behind their chairs on one side of the table, seven of them, including Lexa, Indra, Nyko and Gustus. As Clarke walked in she saw that Lincoln and Octavia were already there, stood at one end of the sky people's side of the table, leaving five empty chairs. Clarke stood opposite Lexa, in the middle of the table, Bellamy took the chair on her right, Abby on her left, leaving Kane on the other side of Bellamy and Raven on the other end.

Clarke knew that the funeral was over, but that they would dine together before talks began.

After they were all stood behind their chairs, Kane spoke, unwrapping the cloth from the glass bottle in his hands. 'Please accept this gift, commander. We drink this at special occasions, I believe this qualifies.'

Bellamy shifted uneasily as Lexa nodded her assent, and Gustus reached for the bottle with narrowed, mistrustful eyes. He didn't trust that the grounder wanted the alliance, and that meant that the grounder didn't want Clarke to be there.

Gustus handed the bottle of moonshine to Lexa, who nodded regally. 'Thank you, Marcus of the sky people' she said ceremonially.

'You're welcome, Lexa, kom Tri Kru.' Kane smiled warmly as he spoke Trigedasleng.

Turning her head, Bellamy watched as Lexa's eyes met light blue ones. 'Clarke, let us drink together.' Her tone made it clear it was a command.

'It would be my pleasure.' Clarke responded.

Gustus placed two cups, resembling wine glasses, on the table and Lexa poured out the clear liquid, handing one cup to Clarke. 'Heda, allow me.' His voice boomed through the room and Lexa raised her arm, permitting Gustus to take the metal cup from her hand and drink a sip of it.

After he had taken a sip, Lexa took the cup back. 'Tonight we celebrate our new found peace. Tomorrow, we plan our war.' She raised the cup in a toast. 'To those we've lost, and to those we shall soon find.'

However, before she could raise the cup more than a few inches to her mouth, Gustus pitched forwards, splaying across the table, choking. Coughing he staggered back, collapsing against the wall with a cry. 'Poison.'

Without thinking Bellamy's arm shot out and knocked the cup Clarke still held from her hand, sending it clattering to the floor.

Indra swung round from her position over Gustus's slumped body and unsheathed her sword, position defensive. 'It was the sky people.' She shouted, as the remaining grounders rounded on them.

One grounder pushed aside the table, stepping towards them, and Bellamy jumped in front of Clarke, stretching an arm out to keep her behind him. She tried to push past him, determined that he wouldn't be hurt because of her, but he was too strong.

'This wasn't us,' she cried to Lexa, struggling behind Bellamy, 'you have to know it wasn't us.'

Lexa looked over Clarke before turning to a grounder leaning over Gustus. She ordered something furiously in Trigedasleng and Clarke recognised the words 'not' and 'die'.

Indra barked an instruction and the grounders began to search them aggressively. Bellamy fought against a grounder attempting to get to Clarke, and she took the opportunity to dart past him, facing Lexa. He stilled, allowing the grounder to search him. His attention was on Clarke, preparing to protect her again.

'We didn't do this.'

'Gustus warned me about you but I didn't listen' Lexa snarled.

'Lexa please.' Clarke's voice begged for reason, but Lexa didn't comply.

'Tell me something Clarke, when you plunged your knife into the heart of the boy you loved, did you not wish that it was mine?' Lexa voice was acidic, and Clarke didn't even have the energy to correct her, she knew that she would not be able to reason with her now. But as her mind flickered to Bellamy, who she could feel was watching her, body coiled to strike, her eyes caught movement over Lexa's shoulder. Finn stood in the shadows of the room.

Gustus' voice caught the attention of the room as he called for 'Heda.'

He had searched Raven as was holding a small vial in his hands.

'That's not mine.' She said, her voice both shocked and certain.

Gustus handed the vial to Lexa, nodding to Raven as he said something in Trigedasleng, ignoring her continued protests. 'I'm telling you, that's not mine, he put it there when he searched me.' Raven's voice was challenging.

Lexa eyed the vial and the sky crew furiously. Clarke shook her head as Bellamy came to stand behind her, eyeing the sword of the grounder next to him, and preparing to grab it.

'No sky person leaves this room.' Roared Lexa, storming out, followed by the grounders.

'Do something.' Octavia begged Lincoln quietly.

He turned as his old leader walked past him. 'Indra,' he had to try, 'Indra, wait.' She turned. 'Let me speak for them.' Lincoln requested in Trigedasleng, but Indra curled her lip in disgust.

'You are them.' She spat, slamming the door to the room closed behind her.

In the silence that followed, Bellamy and Clarke stared at each other, both wondering how it could have gone so wrong so quickly. His eyes flickered to Raven, standing alone in one corner, and Clarke nodded silently, but before she turned, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Bellamy's middle, thanking him silently for protecting her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, wrapping an arm round her shoulders. She stepped back, squared her shoulders and walked to the corner of the room.

'Raven,' the other girls shoulders stiffened, but she otherwise she didn't acknowledge Clarke, 'I need to know the truth.'

'I'd step back if I was you.' Raven said coldly.

'You wanted me to kill Lexa two days ago, if you tried to poison her I need to know.' Suddenly Raven spun round threw a punch to the side of her face. The force sent her stumbling backwards, and pain blossomed across her cheekbone.

Bellamy was there in seconds, prepared to step in, but Clarke waved him back.

'You're the only murdered here.' Raven's voice was aggressive but her eyes were filled with tears, and her lip shook.

Octavia and Abby crossed the room, and led Clarke across the room, away from Raven and away from Finn, who now stood by the door, watching silently as Clarke felt the guilt wash over her. The two women sat Clarke down but stepped away as Bellamy crouched next to her.

'You see him don't you.' It wasn't a question, but his voice was gentle.

Clarke's eyes snapped up to his but she couldn't be surprised for long, Bellamy knew her no one else did, of course he would have noticed how tormented she still was.

'I don't understand it,' she said honestly, 'I did it to save him from being tortured by the grounders, and he knew he would be. His last words were him thanking me.' She sniffed, holding back tears and Bellamy reached for her hand, holding it in both of his own, brushing his thumbs over the back of her hand. 'I don't understand why I see him, staring at me, judging me.'

Bellamy's heart ached to see Clarke so distressed, but Clarke mistook the pain on his face for something else. Lifting the hand he wasn't holding, she placed it on Bellamy's face. 'It's not because I'm still in love with him, I know that much.'

'I know Clarke, you don't have to worry about my feelings about that. I know that you loved him once, and a small part of you will always care for him, but I trust you, I trust us.'

Clarke closed her eyes tightly, holding back tears at his words.

'I love you.' She whispered.

'I know,' she could hear him smiling, 'I love you too.'

'I know.' She smiled too.

Footsteps interrupted them and Clarke opened her eyes to see Abby stood next to them. Bellamy squeezed Clarke's hand before stepping away tactfully, and Abby took her turn crouching in front of her daughter.

'Listen to me Clarke, I know how you feel,' she said solemnly, as an image of her father flashed through Clarke's mind. 'The pain will never go away, but Lexa is wrong, you won't be haunted by this forever; the pain will fade. What got me through was loving you. And what will get you through is loving that boy.'

Although Clarke hadn't yet forgiven her mother for being ultimately responsible for her father's death, she knew that she was right. She had to learn to let go of the past, to forgive herself truly. In that moment she knew, that her and her mother were different because her actions had ultimately saved Finn from so much more pain, but they were more similar, because they had both tried to save someone they loved, and they had both had to kill a man to do it.


	22. Chapter 22

*Shout out to my readers from Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil and Chile! As I said I've never been across the pond, I've only gone east, but your countries look so, so beautiful and I absolutely have to visit before too long! Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to favourite/follow/review!*

Before she could think on it more, three sets of footsteps broke the silence in the room and a grounder appeared at the door, they could see two more figures in the darkness behind him. Lincoln pushed Octavia behind him in a familiar show of protection, and Bellamy moved to stand next to Clarke and Octavia, preparing to protect the two people he loved, if it came down to it.

Nyko and Indra walked in, and the first grounder stayed by the door, and the sky people stood in terse silence, in a stand-off with the grounders.

'How's Gustus?' Asked Lincoln carefully, and Nyko's eyes slid to look, first at Lincoln, and then at Octavia, peering out from behind him, angry at Lincoln's constant assumption that she need protecting, but grateful that the man she loved was there regardless.

'Gustus will live.' Nyko replied finally.

'Take her away.' Hissed Indra, irritated with the interaction.

'Wait, what are you doing?' Kane asked, frowning, and stepping in front of Raven.

'She didn't poison anyone.' Thundered Bellamy furiously, stepping towards Raven as well but Clarke's hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him.

'Please Bellamy' she whispered, and he stilled, eyeing the grounders furiously as they stood in front of Kane and Raven, anger straining inside of him.

'I argued for all of you to die,' said Indra spitefully, her lip curling as she looked at each of them, 'but the commander is merciful, she wants only one.' Her gaze settled on Raven.

Bellamy's muscles flexed under Clarke's wrist and her heart tightened fearfully, she knew he wanted to do something, to protect Raven, but she couldn't have him getting hurt when there was no chance of being able to stop Indra as they were now.

'She's innocent.' Lincoln's voice was reasonable, but he pushed his arm back, blocking Octavia even more as Indra strode towards Raven.

'I don't care' spat the grounder, and this time it was Clarke whose body tensed. 'They move, they bleed.' She said distainfully. Bellamy strained to move again and the grounder moved from the door to step towards him menacingly. Clarke lifted her hand, palm out, and used the grip on his wrist to tug him back.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered, knowing that Bellamy would see this as cowardice, but they were outnumbered, they had no weapons, and the grounders were seeking blood.

He grunted, but stepped back with her, knowing that Clarke was just being logical.

Nyko gripped Raven by the arm and began to lead her out of the room, Octavia protested, but Lincoln stayed in front of her as she yelled, the rest of them just watched grimly, knowing that unless they could prove her innocence, Raven would die.

'The rest of you are free,' Indra smiled a cruel smile, 'when she's dead so is the alliance. You should run.'

As the footsteps of the grounders, and Raven, disappeared, a deathly silence descended on the room once more as the remaining group thought desperately of a solution. After a few minutes they followed the grounders out into the open, watching in silence as Raven was tied with arms above her head, to a thick pole in the middle of a clearing. A group of grounders, outnumbering them ten to one, surrounded Raven, thirsty for blood.

Bellamy noticed suddenly that Clarke had returned to the room and turned to go after her, but found his path blocked by a dozen grounders. Frustrated he turned back to the sight in front of him, mind racing as to why Clarke had left. He would be lying if he said the thought didn't cross his mind that she would find the death of another of their friends at the hands of the grounders too painful. But he knew that she was stronger than that. No, there must be something else. He itched to go after her, but reasoned that she was at least safe in the room, all the grounders in Tondc were gathered in the clearing.

Lexa stepped forward from the group, holding a heavy knife in her hand. 'I take no joy in this Raven,' they all wondered how true this was, 'but this time, justice will be done.'

'I didn't do it,' panted Raven, 'how is that justice?'

Lexa didn't answer, merely pressed the blade of the knife to the inside of Raven's upper arm, next to her head.

'We have to stop this,' Bellamy growled, leaping forwards, but Kane's arm came up to stop him.

'We can't.' His voice was pained.

'Lincoln talk to them.' Octavia pleaded, but in her heart she already knew that he had done all that he could.

Raven cried out as the blade cut into her skin, and from her place in the room they had meant to dine in, Clarke winced. She had returned to the room because she needed to think of a way to save her. She believed that Raven was innocent, she just had to prove it, and the girl's cries alerted her that she was almost out of time.

Indra was the next to step forward into the circle, and, taking the knife from Lexa, she slid the blade across Raven's middle, leaving a long trail of dark blood behind. Bellamy felt rage boil over inside of him as Raven screamed, and he clenched his jaw so hard that once more, he thought he'd crack a tooth. He clenched his fists together but he made no move to break through the circle. He couldn't help Raven if he was dead too. And he wouldn't do it to Clarke, he wouldn't leave her.

'Lincoln please, these are your people.' Octavia pleaded again desperately.

'Not anymore.' Lincoln's voice was hard.

Nyko approached him and pulled him into a brief hug, promising he would keep them safe as long as he could, but warning him that they needed to leave now.

'Clarke,' Abby called into the room, 'we need to move.'

'No,' thought Clarke, 'I cannot let Raven die, especially not for something she hadn't done.'

Feeling the hairs at the back of her neck prickle, she knew, without having to look, that she would see Finn behind her. Clarke turned, and it was then that she realised that she was angry. No she was furious. She couldn't save anybody, and now Finn was here to torment her.

'Say something.' She ground out, but the boy, or the ghost of the boy, just stared back at her without blinking.

They stood silently, watching each other, as the seconds passed, the time marked only by Raven's screams, before Finn's head began to move, and his eyes slid to the metal cup lying discarded on the floor.

Realisation dawned suddenly on her face. 'It wasn't in the bottle' she breathed. Running out the door she burst out into the clearing, pushing her way through the crowd of grounders not caring about their vehement protests.

'Clarke? Stop! What are you doing?' Clarke barely even registered Bellamy's shouts. 'You'll get yourself killed.' He followed her through the circle, barely containing his fear and frustration. His emotions were fraught as it was and the determination in Clarke's eyes worried him.

'I need that bottle, now.' She ordered, continuing to march towards the centre of the circle, Bellamy and Abby flanking her wordlessly, a thousand questions racing through their minds. Nyko ducked into a nearby tent to fetch the bottle.

'Stop.' She cried as she caught sight of Raven, her voice echoed through the circle and the grounder in front of her, a man with greying hair, lowered the knife.

'Let her pass.' Said Lexa emotionlessly, managing to sound almost bored, and the two grounders who had moved to block their path stepped away.

Clarke was confident as she approached the commander. 'One of your people tried to kill you Lexa, not one of mine.' Her words silenced the circle, and all eyes fell on her.

Lexa's eyes narrowed and Indra stepped forward, reaching for her sword. 'You should have run.' She said menacingly.

'I can prove it.' Clarke said, head raised high, gaze unwavering. She knew she was right, and she was determined to prove it to Lexa, to prove that she should have trusted Clarke.

Nyko had returned from the tent, and, reaching Clarke's side he offered the glass bottle of moonshine to her.

Bellamy's heart stopped. She couldn't be serious. Before he could stop her, before he could even reach for her, Clarke had un-stoppered the bottle and was drinking from it.

Bellamy felt a cold sweat prickle at his back as he watched Clarke for any signs that the bottle contained poison. The circle watched, all eyes on Clarke as she…did nothing.

Moments passed, and Clarke showed no signs of being poisoned. Bellamy felt the blood begin to pump through his body once more, and he had to fight the urge to sigh in relief. But they weren't safe yet.

'Explain.' Demanded Lexa icily.

'The poison wasn't in the bottle,' her voice was clear, without a hint of doubt in it. Bellamy's eyes dropped to the bottle Clarke still held and he knew that Clarke was right, 'it was in the cup.'

As he watched, Gustus leant forward and murmured something to Lexa in Trigedasleng, before stepping back and Bellamy realised that the grounder looked at Lexa in very much the same way Bellamy knew he looked at Clarke. A mixture of love, and an innate need to protect her. Frowning at the ground Bellamy mind raced, tying the pieces together, before they slid back to Gustus, who was once again murmuring in Lexa's ear, no doubt telling her that they were lying to save one of their own. And he knew.

'It was you.' He said, his voice quiet, but steady, and he was relieved when the flash of panic in Gustus' eyes told him that he was right.

Clarke turned to him but Bellamy was still looking at Gustus, with the same expression of calculating watchfulness as he did when he was assessing a situation, coming up with an idea, a strategy. His eyes held the same unwavering confidence that he had when whatever it was that he was so focused on had revealed everything to him, and Clarke knew she trusted that he was right.

'He tested the cup, he searched Raven.' Bellamy had been right to trust his instinct on the grounder, he just didn't realise that the reason he mistrusted him was because he could identify with him so much.

'Gustus would never harm me.' Lexa snarled, glaring at the defiant man in front of her, but Bellamy didn't look away, he didn't even flinch.

'You weren't the target,' he said resolutely, 'the alliance was.'

'We didn't do this, and you know.' Bellamy was relieved by Clarke's support, she believed him.

Lexa's eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably, and she rounded on Gustus, asking him something in Trigedasleng, he watched her as she spoke, his expression was closed, but he had an air of defeat.

Staring back ahead, the huge grounder spoke, surprisingly not in his native language. 'This alliance would cost you your life heda. I could not let that happen.'

Surprise rippled through the grounders at the confession, and Lexa's shoulders dropped, her mask slipping, revealing disbelief written across her face.

'This treachery will cost you yours.' She said firmly, bringing her emotions back under control, before barking an order to the grounders.

Raven was cut down from the tree and Kane and Abby ran to catch her as Gustus was restrained. Within minutes, their positions had been reversed, and now it was Gustus tied to the thick pole, enduring a cut from each grounder present. Clarke could hardly stomach watching, knowing that she was partly responsible for this torture.

Bellamy, sensing her thoughts, murmured quietly in her ear, 'you didn't do this Clarke, he did. They were going to kill Raven, you saved her.'

She took a deep breath, turning to face him, showing him the vulnerability in her eyes. 'Why is it that in order to save someone I care about, someone else always has to die?'

He didn't have an answer, so instead, Bellamy did the only thing he could do; he pulled Clarke against him, hiding her face against his chest, shielding her from some of the horror for as long as he could. And as he caught Raven's eye, he knew that she had forgiven Clarke. Experiencing what she had, seeing how Gustus would die, and knowing how much worse it would have been for Finn, when she turned to look at Clarke, it was with pity and guilt, with no more of the rage that had previously burned in her eyes.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Clarke felt Bellamy's shoulders stiffen, and she turned, leaning her back against his chest, to see Lexa unsheathing her sword.

'Be strong.' Gustus struggled to get the words out, but somehow, even with his dying breath, he managed, only wanted to help her do the task they both know she had to.

Steeling herself, Lexa spoke clearly, 'yu gonplei ste oden' before sinking her sword into Gustus' chest. Summoning the last of his strength, he held his head, allowing the last thing he saw before darkness clouded his vision to be the woman he had served, the woman he had dedicated the best part of his life to.


	23. Chapter 23

*Shout out to my readers from New Zealand! One of my best friends lives in Auckland, he runs a company called Beercycle, you should definitely check it out if you're old enough to drink haha! I can't wait to go visit him, it'll be my first time in New Zealand! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review!*

Evening fell and Gustus' body was removed and prepared to be buried the next day. Clarke didn't see Finn again, and she knew that it was her conscience's way of forgiving her.

After very little interaction with the grounders, the sky people found themselves sat around a fire, occasionally talking, but mostly they were silent, lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Clarke left her seat next to her mother and moved to sit next to Bellamy, who was watching as Octavia and Lincoln talked, lost in each other, oblivious to the world. He wished that he and Clarke could afford to be like that more often, instead of constantly fearing for their lives and the lives of their friends.

She sat next to him, dropping her head onto his shoulder, as Lincoln's voice carried across the circle.

'How did you know it was Gustus?' He asked Bellamy curiously.

'He'd do anything to protect her. It just makes sense.' Bellamy's deep voice was solemn, and as Lincoln glanced down at Octavia in understanding, he pressed a kiss to the top of Clarke's head, taking a minute to breath in the scent of the shampoo she had used since the Ark had landed on the ground, the smell of berries filled his nose and he felt the remaining tightness around his heart relax. The day was almost over, surely nothing else could go wrong.

'Look at the thanks he got.' Remarked Octavia, and Bellamy frowned.

Their contemplative silence was broken by Raven's shout, 'Guys!'

'What is it?' Bellamy stood up as Raven walked over to the camp, Clarke did the same.

'Listen to this.' Raven held the radio in her hands and they could hear a voice standing out from the background static.

'This is Jasper Jordan, we need help. Forty seven of us are trapped inside Mount Weather. They've taken Harper, she may already be dead. We don't know how much time we have left. Please hurry.'

'It's repeating.' Raven told them, looking up at their amazed expression.

'They're alive.' Breathed Octavia, surprise mingling with joy in her voice, but Bellamy had gotten over the initial joy at finding that they definitely were alive, and was now focusing on the actual message. They were in serious trouble.

'We need to do this now.' He said firmly, looking at Clarke. 'We've got the alliance, now is the time to use it.'

Clarke nodded and looked at Bellamy meaningfully, her eyes asking him to come with her. They walked away from the group together, coming to a stop in a deserted corner of the camp. Silence fell as Bellamy waited patiently for Clarke to talk, and after a while, she did, just as he'd known she would.

'When Lexa spoke to me earlier, standing over the ashes of Finn's body, and the bodies of those he killed, she told me that love was weakness.' Her voice was quiet.

Bellamy frowned at Clarke, unsure whether he wanted to find out where she was going.

'What if she was right?'

'Clarke…'

'Everyone I've ever loved has died.' Suddenly she was blinking back tears. 'My father, Wells, Finn. And that's not even mentioning the dozens of lives we lost down here. Charlotte, Atom, Sterling…' Clarke trailed off, realising that tears were falling silently down her face.

Bellamy hand reached out and brushed them away before moving to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

'Your mother,' his voice was gentle, 'she's a survivor. She came down to earth in the Ark after you, in a journey that probably should have killed her. She became chancellor and then broke the law, just so she could find you. She's taken on grounders and her own people, in order to do what she thinks is right. She's a fighter, and so am I.'

'I would be putting you in danger.' Clarke's voice trembled with emotion.

'You would be rescuing our friends.'

'Lexa was right,' Clarke cried, 'my love for you makes me selfish, it makes me want to keep you, our best chance at rescuing our friends, to myself. That's weakness.'

'Your love for our friends makes you strong - strong enough to trust me to rescue them, and come back to you. And my love for you makes me determined to come back alive. Lexa's wrong.'

Clarke's voice was no more than a whisper. 'I can't survive the pain of losing you. I can't Bellamy.'

'There won't be any pain because I'm not going anywhere, I won't leave you, I promise.'

Closing her eyes, Clarke nodded once in acceptance and Bellamy folded her against him, his strong arms wrapping around her as she cried, knowing she had made the right decision.

After a few minutes Clarke's sniffling slowed, and the stopped. Bellamy loosened his hold on her slightly and she wiped the tears from her eyes before reaching up and entwining her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. He returned her kiss, and they stayed, wrapped up each other for what could have been minutes or hours. They finally broke apart, breathing heavily, and Clarke looked up at Bellamy, her eyes honest and afraid.

'You all come out of there alive ok?'

'Ok.' Bellamy pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and they pulled apart, walking back to where the rest of their people were in the camp.

When they arrived the told the others of their plan, and preparations began. Lincoln offered to take Bellamy through the reaper tunnels, and despite Octavia's protestations, it was agreed - they needed someone who knew their way around. Raven took Bellamy aside to go over the radio and getting in contact once he was in Mount Weather, leaving Clarke free to begin talks with Lexa.

In the early hours of the morning Clarke left Lexa's council tent, happy that their plan of attack on Mount Weather would work. As she stepped out into the camp, barely lit with the dying embers of a few fires, she was surprised to see Bellamy, faintly illuminated, sat by the closest one.

Glancing up at the movement, Bellamy smiled when he saw Clarke walk out of the tent.

'You waited up for me?' She grinned, crossing to where he now stood.

Linking their fingers together Bellamy tugged her along playfully as he began to walk through the camp to the collection of tents they had been allocated. 'I told you I wasn't going anywhere didn't I?'

Clarke grinned again, looking up at him.

Glancing down, Bellamy saw Clarke looking at him with a smile playing round her lips and he stopped abruptly.

'What-?' But before Clarke could finish her question Bellamy had rounded on her and crashed his lips to hers, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. Surprised, Clarke returned the kiss, and they tumbled into a tent together.

'Octavia's staying with Lincoln, we were supposed to share this tent.' Bellamy said against Clarke's lips and she swallowed, desire shooting through her.

Kissing him again, Clarke's heart raced as she pushed his jacket from his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor, before shrugging out of her own. Next, she ran her hands down the hard planes of Bellamy's chest, down to the hem of his shirt, before gripping it and pulling it over his head, breaking their kiss for a moment before their lips found each other again.

She had seen Bellamy shirtless before, but the breath still caught in her mouth as attraction coursed through her, almost causing her to moan out loud. She brushed her hands over his defined muscles, before gripping his shoulders as his arms moved to grip the material of her shirt, bunching it in his hands before pulling it swiftly over her head as well, throwing it behind him.

Bellamy's rough hands skimmed the sides of her waist gently before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him again, skin on skin, the way only they could fit together. She reached up and tugged her hands through his hair, pulling him closer still, as they kissed wildly.

She felt his hands move up her back, coming to rest at the clasp of her bra, he neatly undid it and slid it from her shoulders, dropping his mouth to trail soft, hot kisses from her shoulder, up her neck and back to her lips, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbling on it, making her moan against his mouth.

Pressing her palms against his chest she walked him backwards until his legs hit the edge of his bed, and then she gently pushed him to sit, slipping her shoes off and climbing on top of his lap, a leg either side of him. One of Bellamy's warm hands gripped her waist again, the other brushed her hair back from her shoulder, and she leant her head down to press kisses along his jaw.

Bellamy's eyes drifted closed and he was struck by a sense of how exactly right everything was in that moment. Clarke lifted her head again to look at him and as he met her eyes, both their pupils dilated with lust, he was struck by how beautiful she looked in that moment. Her golden hair loose across her shoulders, her cheeks flushed and her blue eyes shining, even in the shadows of the dimly lit tent, she looked every inch a princess.

Reaching up a hand he brushed his thumb across her cheekbone, kissing her gently, and then they were kicking off the rest of their clothes and sliding under the covers, together.


	24. Chapter 24

*Shout out to my Spanish readers! I visited Madrid and Barcelona in June last year and fell in love! Thanks so much for reading, and please favourite/follow/review!*

When Clarke woke up her back was pressed against Bellamy's warm chest, their legs tangled together. His right arm was under the pillow, her head resting on it, and his other arm was wrapped around her waist. A blanket was wrapped around their otherwise naked bodies, helping to ward off the chill of the early morning. She sighed in contentment and Bellamy shifted at the sound, his arm tightening around her, pulling her closer to him as he buried his head deeper into the crook of her neck, breathing in the undeniable Clarke-ness. As he held her, his mind couldn't help but drift, settling darkly on the days ahead.

She lay there, drifting in and out of a peaceful sleep, her mind flicking through what happened last night, for another ten minutes or so, until Bellamy sighed deeply, his hot breath racing across her back, and rolled onto his back, his arm dropping away, leaving her waist suddenly cold.

'Morning.' Clarke smiled, recognising the way his voice sounds in the morning, gorgeous and gravelly.

She rolled over as well to face him, hooking her leg over his and resting her head on his chest, her fingers tracing shapes onto his bare chest.

'How did you sleep?' She asked softly.

'Very well.' He grinned a comically wicked grin, and Clarke couldn't help but laugh as a faint blush stained her cheeks. Then his tone turned serious, 'So Lincoln and I leave for the tunnels today.'

Clarke's heart chilled and she struggled not to sigh sadly. Sensing her thoughts Bellamy linked his fingers with Clarke's where her hand danced over his chest and kissed her forehead.

'Last night,' he said slowly, thinking carefully about the best well to phrase how he was feeling, 'it wasn't just about me leaving, Clarke, I-' She tilted her face up to look at him solemnly. 'It was a promise.' He said finally, 'A promise of more to come.'

A small smile played around Clarke's mouth as she felt tears prick at her eyes, but she resolved to hold it together. Last night she had let her walls down, in more ways than one, now it was time to focus on what was to come, on keep Bellamy alive.

'You keep your promise, and I promise to get you, and the rest of our friends, out of the mountain.'

'I know you will.' Bellamy smiled down at the impossibly brave woman curled up against his side.

Leaning up she pulled him into a passionate kiss, pouring everything she had into it - her fear, her pain, her love. He responded in kind and they moulded together, opening up to each other in a way that had started with them sleeping together last night. They both knew, in their hearts, that this would be their last opportunity to do this before they had to let the other go. So they allowed themselves this selfish moment, wrapped up in the other, for once not thinking about everyone they had to protect, and just thinking about the person they held in their hands, the person they trusted more than anyone else. In more ways that just romantic, they were two halves of a whole, and nothing proved that to them more than their time spent together now.

Too soon, they knew they had to leave the sanctuary that they had made, and rejoin the rest of their people and the grounders. Although eyebrows were raised, and Bellamy distinctly noticed a look of resentment flash across Lexa's face, nothing was said, and Lincoln and Bellamy were free to begin preparing to leave the camp. Too soon everything was ready, and Clarke and Bellamy found themselves with the sky people, at the gate in to Tondc. Knowing that there was no time for an emotional goodbye, Bellamy stepped forward, pulling Clarke to him and pressing his lips to hers urgently. She reached her arms up, wrapping them around his neck.

'I love you. Find that radio as soon as you get inside, I'll be waiting.' She said fiercely against his lips.

'I love you too, I will, I'll see you soon.' He vowed, just as fiercely, and then he was gone.

Clarke turned away, unable to watch him walk away from her for much longer. Every logical part of her brain told her that he would be fine, that he was strong, fast, smart and capable, he had proven it dozens of times.

For now, she had to become the leader she knew she could be, the leader she had been many times before, and focus on the alliance and the attack on Mount Weather. So, doing what she did best, Clarke dealt with her emotions, pushing them aside and locking them away, before squaring her shoulders and walking to Lexa's tent to continue their talks. This time, she had a small council of Abby and Kane with her, and by midday they had agreed that a group of grounders, including Indra, would return to Camp Jaha with the sky people, in order to firmly establish the alliance and improve communication between their people. Kane offered to organise training, allowing the two groups to learn from each other, and Lexa agreed.

It took Bellamy and Lincoln two full days to reach the mountain, the same amount of time it took Clarke, Octavia, Lincoln, Abby and Kane to return to Camp Jaha with the grounders, and begin to prepare. Their time spent in the woods was difficult for both Bellamy and Lincoln, they both missed the women they had left behind, but both were fighting deeper battles. Bellamy found his mind constantly drawn to the impossible task before him, and to his friends whose lives were in danger. Lincoln found himself battling with his conscience about his time as a reaper and the memories that constantly assaulted him, that were only getting worse the closer to the mountain they got. Guilt plagued him, but still he was afraid that he wasn't strong enough to return to the place it had all started.

It took a while, but Lincoln eventually told Bellamy what had happened to him, and what he would have to expect, which did nothing to reassure Bellamy of the task that lay ahead. Pushing down the rising panic he fought to reason with himself, Clarke and Raven were two of the smartest, most cunning women he'd ever known, working together they would find a way to get him out of Mount Weather, he trusted that much. Now he had to learn to trust Lincoln to keep him alive long enough to get inside. Although he was still a little reluctant to admit it, Lincoln was good for Octavia, he had brought out her inner strength, had encouraged her to take control of her new freedom, and more importantly, he could look after her when Bellamy couldn't.

In Camp Jaha, tensions were running high. The integration of grounders and sky people was proving to be as difficult as had been expected, but as the days passed, a routine of sorts was created. Whilst Clarke and Abby planned the attack with Lexa and her council of grounders, Kane worked with the grounders to train the two forces, preparing them to work together. The grounders on Lexa's council showed open disregard for Bellamy, doubting his ability to make it inside the mountain, and Clarke frequently had to clamp down on her emotions because of this.

'They say they have a plan? I say waiting for one man to get inside is not a very good one.' Spat a grounder, turning his shaved, tattooed head to look down at Clarke.

'I agree.' Another grounder spoke now. The longer they discussed, the more agitated the grounders became, but just when it looked like the alliance might begin to crumble, Lexa suggested the destruction of the huge damn that provided Mount Weather with power.

The way her mind worked, Clarke pointed out that the damn had survived a nuclear war, looking for a way to destroy it, but the grounder with the shaved her slammed a fist on the table that the council stood around.

'All she offers is no.' He roared. 'We have an army, let's use it.'

'We will,' said Clarke firmly, her eyes defiantly staring down the grounder, 'after Bellamy lowers their defences, turns off the acid fog. If you can't get to your enemy, you can't win.' Clarke's voice was final.

'You are the enemy.' The grounder's voice was dangerous as he took a step towards Clarke menacingly, but she refused to step back, refused to show any fear. She did not send Bellamy inside that mountain, for her plan to be ruined by a big man with a little problem.

'You burned my brother alive in a ring of fire.' The grounder's voice was threatening.

Clarke stepped forward, until he was only a foot away from her, 'he shouldn't have attack my ship.' She said fiercely.

'Waiting for Bellamy is not plan' interrupted Lexa, and Clarke felt irritation spike through her again, 'it's a prayer. We will focus on the damn.'

With a sigh the grounder stepped back and Clarke retook her place at the table.

As the days passed, a plan was finalised, and Raven was drafted in to begin work on shutting down the damns. Fortunately, Wick, a playful but disconcertingly intelligent engineer, was more than happy to help the brunette.

When Bellamy woke, memories came flashing back to him, so abruptly that the emotions hit harder than they should have. First, the memory of a sign - red letters 'QUARANTEEN INTAKE' against a background that had once been white, before a hundred years of neglect had gotten the better of it. He had been in the tunnels with Lincoln, suddenly reapers were there, but then there was a noise, a high pitched screeching, and Lincoln was…not Lincoln any more. He remembered being stripped down and chained around his neck like an animal. Then, his whole body being washed, scoured, scrubbed. His skin throbbed as he recalled the boiling water and burning disinfectant he had been covered in. Dozens of needles. More boiling water, washing away the blood. And the whole time, he had been thinking of Clarke, of her light blue eyes and the way the golden waves of her hair sat across her shoulders, the way she smiled at him.

Slowly, he stirred, opening his eyes slowly the first thing he saw was a cold, green/blue light. Next, the bars of a cage. He tried to sit up but found that his confinement barely allowed him to move. Shuffling round, he finally finished with his back against the back wall of the cage. Looking around wildly he fought against the rising sense of claustrophobia. He was in the middle of a row of cages, and he could see another row beneath him. Looking further into the room he saw row upon row upon row, each holding a barely clothed, emaciated figure, dark tattoos standing out starkly against the while undergarments they were wearing, and the deathly pale pallor of their skin. Grounders. On one side of the room two more grounders were hanging upside down by their ankles, tubes connecting them to various large machines. As Bellamy looked closer he was horrified, but not surprised, to find that the tubes were draining the grounders of blood, carrying it off somewhere he couldn't see.

Looking down he saw that he had been stripped of his clothes, left only in scratchy underwear, but he appeared unharmed. Taking a moment to compose himself, Bellamy began to look for an escape. He reached for the heavy lock on his cage, stretching his hand through the small gaps to pull at it, but it held fast. He yanked stubbornly at it for another few seconds, even though he knew it was futile, until a rough voice interrupted him. He turned to his right as a female grounder next to him said something in Trigedasleng.

'I can't…' his voice was croaky, 'I don't understand you.' He said softly, almost wanting to laugh as he thought about how Clarke had been right every time she nagged him to learn Trigedasleng.

The grounder's eyes narrowed and she lunged towards him, 'Sky person?' She hissed?

Bellamy nodded slowly, flinching as she spat at him. He sighed deeply, wiping the saliva from the side of his face before he spoke again. 'I take it no one had told you we're not enemies anymore.' He said, irritated.

He turned back to lock, listening to the weak yells of the rest of those held captive. 'I need to get out of this cage.' He muttered.

'And then what?' He heard the grounder mutter, and found himself relieved that she did speak English. She must have been a warrior before she was captured.

'And then I rescue my friends.' His voice was firm. 'And kill everyone in this mountain if I have to' he thought to himself.

In Camp Jaha, Clarke and Raven sat together in the mechanical and engineering station, waiting impatiently to hear from Bellamy. Clarke's mind drifted, imagining everything that could have happened to Bellamy as nausea rose in her stomach.

'Stop, you'll make yourself sick, or drive yourself insane.' Raven's voice was gentle but firm. 'Bellamy is a fighter, as well as a leader, he's going to be fine.'

'I hope you're right.' Whispered Clarke, staring blindly at the radio on the counter as it continued to play Jasper's message quietly.

Raven watched the girl, cogs turning in her brain. 'You guys had sex, didn't you?' It wasn't really a question though.

Clarke's expression was wary, but her silence was the only answer Raven needed.

'How was it?'

Clarke's expression became slightly distant and Raven knew she was remembering the way Bellamy's hands had touched her, the way they had fit together to perfectly.

'That good huh? Yeah he knows what he's doing.'

A hot, ugly jealousy shot through Clarke as her eyes snapped back into focus, narrowing at Raven.

'Relax, Clarke, it was ages ago.' Seeing that that did little to relax the girl Raven continued, 'I sort of used him, to get over Finn being in love with you. He wasn't into it anyway, that's when I first realised that Bellamy had feelings for you. Well it confirmed my theory anyway.'

Clarke fought with her emotions for a moment before she stood. 'Well I guess that makes us even then.' She said calmly, and Raven was reminded again why Clarke was leading them. She smiled at the girl wryly and grinned even wider when Clarke smiled back.

'I guess it does.'

In a weird way, Clarke was glad for Raven's revelation, at least it distracted her from worrying about Bellamy. For a while.

Bellamy wrenched at the walls of his cage again, feeling the metal cut into his hands without caring. Distantly he heard an electronic beep, but he didn't stop until her heard the grounder's voice again.

'They come.' She said urgently. 'Quiet.' He stilled, turning his attention to the doors that had slid open at one end of the room. Two guards, dressed in tan coloured uniform walked into the draining room, walking unhurriedly through down the rows of grounders, coming to a stop in front of the grounder next to Bellamy.

'This one will do.' Said one of the guards with chilling indifference, as though he didn't see a human caged in front of him, merely a tool.

Bellamy watched as terror filled the grounder's eyes and he quickly took in the dozens of puncture marks, and recent bandages covering her body before he began to yell, kicking the door to his cage. The guard stopped unlocking the lock to the grounders cage, turning his attention to Bellamy instead.

'We got us a live one.' He exclaimed, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. The wordless guard next to him pushed a taser into the cage and shocked Bellamy in his stomach, causing his body to convulse involuntarily. As he struggled for breath, the guards unlocked his cage and he felt the sharp bite of a needle in his arm before they dragged him out roughly.


	25. Chapter 25

*Shout out to my readers from Sweden and Switzerland! I've never visited but some of the nicest people I have ever met were from your countries so I can't wait to go! Thanks so much for reading – two updates in one day?! And it's only 11:30pm here in England so I think I'll even do one more before bed! As always, please favourite/follow/review, thank you!*

When he came two, Bellamy was held upside down by his ankles. Three different needles were imbedded in his body, connecting to tubes that were pumping his blood away, draining him. The glaring green lights coming from a range of beeping machines alerted him to the fact that he had taken the place of one of the grounders he had seen previously being drained. He was aware of another sting in his thigh, different to the dull ache of the needles stuck in him, and as he gasped for breath he notice a pair of legs standing in front of him. From where he hung he could tell they belonged to a youngish girl with dark brown hair who was watching him, a mixture of fear and shock written on her face.

'Who are you?' She asked, but Bellamy didn't answer. He had figured out that she lived in the mountain, but could he trust her? 'You're from the Ark, aren't you?' She asked, crouching in front of him.

'Yeah.' He breathed, nodding and was relieved when the girl smiled genuinely.

'Do you know Jasper?' She asked softly, and Bellamy knew.

'Maya.' He said, and the girl nodded. 'How 'bout getting me down Maya?' He asked gently, and she nodded, abashed, before standing up and pulling the tubes from his body quickly, causing the machine next to him that had been beeping in time with his pulse to emit a long, steady noise, but before she could undo the straps holding his ankles, the door to the room opened again with the same electronic beep behind him, and Bellamy and Maya froze.

'Lovejoy.' She said hesitantly.

'What are you doing down here?' A voice asked, and Bellamy was careful to keep his body still Maya stepped toward the door, moving behind Bellamy's back, and he strained to listen to what he couldn't see. 'You're not cleared for this facility?' Lovejoy's voice was cautious.

'I know, I'm sorry,' said Maya nervously, and Bellamy felt his pulse quicken nervously. 'I just wanted to see what was so special about him…' Maya glanced at Bellamy, thinking quickly as she glanced at the monitor which showed a flatline, '…but he's dead.'

Bellamy closed his eyes, his mind racing, as he carefully relaxed his body so as to support Maya's story. He listened as heavy footsteps walked around him and he pictured Lovejoy glancing at the machine.

'So he is.' Remarked the guard carelessly, walking past where Bellamy hung, continuing until he was in front of him. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened as Lovejoy pressed a button and Bellamy felt himself lowered back to the ground by the straps on his ankles. He allowed his body to fall slowly and limply onto the floor before Lovejoy walked back over to stand in front of him.

'You're a brave girl, coming in here alone.' Lovejoy said patronisingly to Maya as he untied one of Bellamy's ankles, but before he could do anything else Bellamy lashed out, his foot connecting with the man's throat, throwing him backwards to land on his back on the floor. Untying his other ankle quickly Bellamy moved away from the guard, but he was sluggish from the drugs and from being drained, and too soon he was back on his feet, a hand gun pointed at Bellamy where he lay.

'Don't move!' He yelled, and Bellamy stilled, watching the man cautiously. 'On your feet!' He yelled again, but before anything else could happen Maya had stabbed a thick needle into Lovejoy's neck, causing him to recoil and drop the gun. 'Epinephrine' was printed on the side of the needle and Bellamy realised how Maya had woken him up from his drug induced unconsciousness.

Bellamy threw himself after the gun Lovejoy had dropped but the guard pulled the needle from his neck and used it to slice into Bellamy's arm, causing him to yell out in pain. He backed away from the man, his hand gripping his arm and feeling the blood drip through his fingers. Lovejoy ran at him, wrestling him against one of the cages, the one holding the grounder that Bellamy had been next to, and Maya grabbed the gun from the floor.

'Stop.' She cried, and Lovejoy turned to look at her.

'No don't,' Bellamy struggled to get the words out with Lovejoy's hands around his neck, 'they'll hear.' A gunshot would be too loud and the last thing they needed was more guards coming down.

Taking advantage of the distraction Bellamy threw a hard punch to the guard's gut, causing him to drop his hold, but the guard kicked Bellamy's legs from under him and he crumpled to the floor, waiting for the next blow, but it didn't come.

Rising and turning to look at Lovejoy, Bellamy saw the grounder in the cage gripping onto the guard's raised arm, holding him in place. She was saving him.

Before Lovejoy could attack the grounder Bellamy threw himself at him, wrapping his hands around his neck with every last bit of strength he could muster. Tightening his grip as Lovejoy struggled, Bellamy watched as the life began to drain out of the guard, and he pushed down the guilt and fear and disgust crawling through him. If he didn't do this, Lovejoy would kill him, and everyone else would die. Eventually, the guard sank to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head, and Bellamy let his shaking arms drop away. He stood, exhausted, leaning slightly against the grounder's cage, breathing heavily.

'Thank you.' He gasped, looking at the crouching woman with wide eyes.

Turning to Maya he was pained to see the fear in her eyes. He felt blood dripping down his face from where Lovejoy had punched him, and spat it away onto the floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

'Are you alright?' He asked gently, ducking his head slightly and moving slowly towards her, his hands outstretched as though he was approaching a startled animal. He hated to think that girl was afraid of him. She was shaking, and her eyes slid from the body on the floor, to the gun in her quivering hands, to Bellamy before staring blindly at the floor.

His face drawn in sympathy, Bellamy crossed the floor, placing a gentle hand on her arm, and her eyes snapped up to him. 'Hey,' he whispered softly, 'are you ok?'

Her eyes were shiny with tears but she blinked them away before nodding at him. 'I'm fine.' She said quietly and Bellamy squeezed her arm comfortingly.

Once Maya had calmed down Bellamy turned his attention back to Lovejoy. 'Help me get him undressed,' he said, 'we need to get rid of the body.' She moved towards him and together they stripped the guard of his uniform and Bellamy put it on. Next, they pushed his body down a chute that Maya revealed was used to dump the grounders' bodies once they were practically dead. Bellamy didn't question the 'practically' – Lincoln had already told him what the reapers were given.

Bellamy stood in front of Maya by the door, dressed in the guard's uniform. His face was pale and tired, but he pulled a cap low over his head. Taking in the confliction written all over Maya, Bellamy knew he had to give her an out. 'You've done enough,' he told her, his voice calm, 'you should walk away.'

'You don't know where you're going.'

'So draw me a map.'

Maya knew that the man was trying to protect her, but she had to help right the wrong her people were doing.

'No,' she shaking her head with a sad smile, 'I'm in.' She handed him Lovejoy's gun and security pass, before ripping of his name tag from the vest Bellamy wore, her hands steady.

'The tracking chip.' Bellamy said, remembering what Clarke had told him about Anya.

'It'll trip alarms once we start moving.' She said in agreement.

Bellamy nodded his head once. 'Do it.'

Maya tried to distract him as she cut the tracker out of his arm carefully with a scalpel. 'How did you know what my name was before I told you?' Her voice was light, but it was forced.

'Clarke.' He said, wincing as the scalpel slid through his skin, but her name had the desired effect, and her face filled his mind. If he concentrated hard enough, he thought he could still smell her on him, even though he knew that was impossible. The mountain men had seen to that. 'She said Jasper couldn't stop talking about someone named Maya.' He glanced down to see the girl smiling the same way he knew he smiled when someone talked about Clarke, when he thought no one would notice.

'Put this in your cage.' Maya handed him the tracker, surprising Bellamy with how quickly she had removed it. Nodding, he grabbed a bandage to cover his arm and did as she said, looking at the grounder as he walked to his cage.

'I'll come back for you, I promise.' She nodded in return.

'Let's go.' Called Maya.

Turning, he eyed the girl one last time, seeing in her eyes that she was ready for what they were about to do. 'Okay,' he said solemnly, 'I need to get to the radio so I can contact Clarke.' His heart as her name passed his lips, and his traitorous brain bombarded him again, this time with images of her lying naked in his arms, safe in their bed.

'I helped Jasper and Monty set that up, I know where it is.' Bellamy was relieved that Clarke had been right, as usual, Maya was invaluable right now. But before he could get to comfortable, her next words chilled him to the bone. 'Your people are disappearing. Two so far, Monty and Harper. I thought they'd be in here but-'

'I want to see the others.' Interrupted Bellamy, his voice tinged with worry. 'Now.' He hated being so abrupt, but he didn't have much time, and the sooner he rescued his friends, the sooner he could be back with Clarke.

Maya nodded and they left the room quickly. 'The dorm's on the way to the radio.'

Hours later, and Raven and Clarke were growing restless. Clarke's pacing was beginning to stress Raven out as she fiddled with a small machine that the mountain men used to control the reapers. It emitted a high pitched noise that Lincoln had explain the mountain men conditioned the reapers to associate with pain. It was barbaric. They had stolen the device from a mountain man that an armed patrol had captured the day before. He was being held in the camp and Kane and Abby were trying to get answers from him.

After listening to the sound a few more times Raven had her answer. 'Yeah, I can totally replicate this frequency.'

'Good,' said Clarke as she paced, 'if we can neutralise the reapers then the tunnels are an option. Get on it.' Her voice was harsher than she meant it to be, but the stress was becoming too much. The two strong willed girls were struggling.

'You don't need to give me orders, Clarke,' snapped Raven, 'I got this.'

Before Clarke could apologise, Octavia ran into the room. 'Any word from Bellamy?' She asked, her voice breathless and worried.

'Nothing yet.' Said Raven softly, her expression apologetic as she looked at the younger sister.

'Lincoln's still missing too.' Said Octavia, even more worried. 'He should be back by now.' She turned to Clarke, who put her hand on Octavia's arm comfortingly.

'They'll be ok.'

'They better be,' murmured Raven, still smarting about the way Clarke had taken her anxiety on her, 'your whole plan rests on Bellamy getting in.'

'He will.' Said Clarke, her tone was hard, and made it clear there was to be no argument about the prospect of Bellamy failing.

Swallowing her pride, Raven thought of the way she had reacted over Finn, vowing to ease up on Clarke. She said nothing, and Clarke backed off. Octavia merely eyed the two girls, taking in the tension in the room warily.

Suddenly a voice came on over the PA that Raven and Wick had set up earlier. 'Councillor Kane and Clarke Griffin, please report to the South air lock immediately.'

Looking at Octavia apologetically, and glancing over her shoulder at Raven, already regretting how she had handled things, Clarke left without another word, heading for where the Ark was holding the mountain man they had captured.

The blood tests had come back from their mountain man prisoner, and they revealed Clarke's worst fear. His blood held genetic markers that only people on the Ark exhibited – Mount Weather had started bleeding their friends.

As they walked, Maya explained the workings of the mountain to Bellamy. At one point they walked past the school, and Bellamy felt a vice contract around his heart. He hadn't even stopped to think about the people living inside the mountain – it was easier for him to picture them all as blood draining monsters, but of course there were innocent civilians, and children, inside too.

They finally reached the dorm where his people, his friends, were being held, but before Bellamy and Maya could get inside an alarm sounded and the doors automatically rolled closed, sealing themselves.

'What's going on?' Bellamy asked Maya anxiously.

'I don't know, it's not a radiation breach, but it can't be good.'

Suddenly Jasper's face appeared at one of the small windows on the top half of the doors, looking out from the dorm to see what was going on. His eyes met Bellamy's and his jaw dropped in shock, seeing him standing next to Maya.

'Take me to that radio.' Said Bellamy urgently, hoping that Jasper seeing him meant that they could now work together to figure out a plan.

Clarke stepped back into the mechanic station, seeing Raven still hunched over the radio as it continued to play Jaspers message.

'We're too late,' Clarke said urgently, with no preamble, 'they're already bleeding them.' The two girls locked eyes, and any hard feelings vanished, they were in this together. They were, for lack of a better word, friends, despite everything. 'It's over.' Said Clarke in a defeated voice, and Raven was shocked to see that the icy blue fire that usually burned so brightly in the girls eyes had faded, instead there was worry and fear.

'No.' Raven stood up, her face determined, defiant. She had to make Clarke snap out of it – Bellamy was right, they couldn't do this without her. 'You don't get to give up Clarke.' She said firmly. 'You killed Finn, and I didn't give up. I'm building your tone generator. You do your job.'

'What is my job?' Asked Clarke desperately, fear disguising itself as aggression in her voice, but Raven saw through it.

'I don't know, to come up with something! But Bellamy is in there and I know you're not going to let someone you love die for nothing.' Clarke wondered if that was another dig about Finn, but she knew Raven was right.

'I've tried.' Clarke's voice was desperate.

Suddenly his voice came on the radio, and for a second she thought she was imagining it.

'Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather. Do you read me?'

Clarke ran to the radio, standing next to Raven. 'Holy crap' breathed the mechanic.

'Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather, does anyone read me?' His voice came again, crackled and against a background of static, but Clarke would recognise it anywhere, and she knew she hadn't imagined it. He was alive. He had gotten in. Relief flooded her body and her legs felt weak. Raven passed her the radio mic wordlessly and she held down the button to allow her voice reach Bellamy with shaking fingers.

'Bellamy?' Clarke's crackled voice reached his ears and he felt his heart jump wildly. Swallowing loudly he clicked the mic on his end again.

'Clarke?' Even slightly distorted she could hear the relief in his voice and suddenly she longed to be there with him, or at least if she couldn't do that, she longed to be curled up with the radio, listening to him talk, just the two of them. But she knew that wasn't an option so she forced herself to get a grip.

Holding back tears she spoke again. 'Are you alright?' It was a simple question but Bellamy knew it was so much more to her, and the care in her voice made his breath catch.

'I'm fine.' He promised meaningfully, and she sighed in relief, blinking her tears away. 'But that's it for the good news.' His tone had become serious again. 'We have to talk fast,' he said apologetically, 'something had changed. Jasper, Monty, everyone's locked up in the dorm.'

'But they're alive?' Clarke asked, relief flooding through her again, 'all of them?'

'I think so,' said Bellamy solemnly, 'for now. But Maya says they're already using their blood, and things are gonna get ugly in here real fast.'

Raven and Clarke shared a look. 'Maya's with you?' Clarke checked, worried about entrusting his life to a girl she had tried to kill.

Bellamy understood immediately why Clarke had asked, even if Maya didn't. 'She helped me escape,' he reassured her, 'if not for her, I'd be dead.'

Clarke's relief was palpable, but Bellamy wasn't done. 'Clarke,' he said, his tone serious enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, 'there are kids in here. We need a plan that doesn't kill everyone. Please tell me we have one.'

Ignoring the warm feeling she got in her stomach every time he said 'we' Clarke held the mic to her mouth again. Kids. 'I hear you, but we can't do anything until you disable the acid fog. Raven's gonna help you.' The girl beside her nodded immediately.

'Got it. What else?' Clarke almost smiled at the strength and determination in his voice.

'You have to figure out a way to free the grounder prisoners. There's a whole army inside that mountain and they don't even realise it.'

'A Trojan Horse.' Said Bellamy and Clarke smiled at the reference. Of course he would manage to bring up ancient history in a time like this. 'Good plan.'

'What does Maya think?' Clarke's voice was curious, but deliberately open. 'Is it doable?'

'She says it's not a problem.' Bellamy said, glancing at the worried looking girl. And even though Clarke sensed that Maya wasn't quite so sure, Bellamy's faith did enough to reassure her. 'Clarke,' her stomach flipped when he said her name and she forced herself to breathe normally, 'if I'm going to pull this off I need you to buy me some time. It won't be long before they realise I don't belong here, and if that happens-'

'That can't happen.' Clarke said firmly, their conversation was closed; they both had people with them, and they couldn't say what they wanted to, but they could read between the lines, understand each other the way only they could. What she wanted to say was 'I won't let that happen', but Bellamy understood. 'I'll come up with something.' She vowed determinedly.

'Come up with it quick.' Replied Bellamy, a hint of teasing in his voice.

'Copy that,' she said back almost playfully, before she felt her throat tighten, 'Bellamy.' She said softly.

'Yeah?'

'You came through.' Bellamy could hear the small smile in her voice, but he could tell she was holding back tears, 'I knew you would.' His heart tugged at the words, and at the emotion in her voice.

'All I've done so far is not get killed.' His tone edged on sarcastic and she smiled, despite the pain in her chest.

'Then keep doing that.' She replied, hesitating before her heart won over her head, reasoning that she truly didn't know if she'd see him again. So, despite their audience, she clicked the mic again. 'I love you Bellamy.' She said softly.

She heard him sigh, pained that they were so far away, and that so much hung over them. 'I love you too.' He replied with feeling, and a tear slipped down Clarke's face.

'You're up.' She said, her voice thick with tears, handing the mic to Raven. The mechanic pulled Clarke into a quick hug against her side.

'What are you going to do?' She asked Clarke.

'I'm going to keep looking outside instead of in.' She said determinedly, 'I'm going to save them.'

Raven nodded, before letting the girl leave the room, then she clicked on the mic and began to talk Bellamy through the acid fog.

Clarke found Octavia, Indra, and, together with six of Indra's most loyal grounders, they headed back to the South air lock.

A guard stood in front of the chamber, but otherwise the corridor was empty, and Clarke meant business. She marched towards the door, her head held high, barely acknowledging the guard until he shook his head, holding a hand out to stop her.

'Don't.' she warned him coldly without even breaking her stride, and he stepped aside, both because of the fire blazing in Clarke's eyes once more, and the dangerous looking grounders flanking her.

'Get dressed,' she order the mountain man – Emerson, her posture oozing command, 'you're coming with me.' Her voice was fearless, leaving no room for discussion, and as Indra looked at the girl with respect, Octavia was struck with the same feeling Raven had been earlier. Clarke was a leader and she knew, in that moment, that she would follow her anywhere.


	26. Chapter 26

*Shout out to my Japanese readers! I'm going to Japan in 2018 to stay with two friends of mine - I can't wait! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review!

Also, sorry if it seems like things are going a little slow, I'm just trying to set it up so I can make some big changes to the original events of s2 – thanks!*

Clarke marched through the camp, heading straight for the gate. Octavia and Indra flanked her either side, and the remaining grounders escorted Emerson behind her. Clarke knew that they cut a powerful path, and she was reassured to see people move out of their way as they walked purposefully to the gate.

Abby and Kane sat at a table outside the mess hall, night had fallen and they were discussing the upcoming journey that they were to make to Tondc tomorrow, where Lexa had returned with the leaders of the 12 clans, but as the commotion spread through camp they turned to see Clarke heading for the camp.

'They've got Emerson.' Said Abby in disbelief.

Jumping up from the table they intercepted her just in front of the gate.

'Clarke, what are you doing?' Asked Kane, blocking her path.

She ignored him, continuing to walk until Abby stepped in front of Kane. 'Clarke stop.' Her mother put out her hand and Clarke stopped walking, but she raised her head, staring Abby down.

'No.' She said firmly. 'I'm letting the prisoner go.'

'Absolutely not.' Exclaimed Abby, shocked.

'He hasn't told us anything yet.' Clarke turned to look at Kane as he spoke, and Ark guards took their place behind the council leaders.

'He doesn't have to,' Clarke's voice was resolute, bringing her eyes back to her mother's 'he's going to tell them something.'

'Get the prisoner back to the airlock, now.' Ordered Abby, but Clarke didn't flinch. As soon as the guards stepped towards her, the grounders behind her dropped into their defensive positions, unsheathing their weapons instantly, causing the guard to stop in their tracks. Indra's fearless glare alone was enough to stop many.

Abby eyed the scene cautiously, knowing that in hand to hand combat, the grounder's had the upper hand.

Clarke surveyed the scene as well before turning back to her mother. 'You may be the chancellor,' she said in a confident voice, 'but I'm in charge.'

Abby's face registered shock, but she still didn't move. 'Indra, tell your people to stand down, before this gets out of hand.' Abby ordered, not looking away from Clarke's defiant stare.

Clarke sighed, as though she had expected this, but showed no signs of being concerned in the slightest.

'No.' Indra's voice was dangerously low and firm.

'People could get hurt.' Abby said, and Clarke saw her begin to falter.

'Not if you get out of my way.' Abby blinked. 'You need to trust that I know what's right for us.'

Kane stepped closer to Abby. 'The grounders trust Clarke.' He said quietly. 'Maybe we should to.' He offered the girl a smile and Abby was taken back to what he had said, back in Lexa's camp, about them being run by a child. It was a bitter pill to swallow but Abby could see no way out of this. Kane had been right and now Clarke was right – she was in charge. Abby had deliberately blinded herself to it for as long as they had been on the ground, but it was inescapable. Clarke commanded more power and respect from her people than Abby could, with her Chancellor's pin.

'Stand down.' Abby said over her shoulder, after a long pause, and the guards complied. Clarke could hear the grounders lower their weapons in response.

Clarke stepped past her mother and Kane without another word. 'Open the gate,' she commanded, 'now.' Nodding as the metal doors slid open, Clarke walked until they were just outside the gate, before stopping and motioning for the grounders to bring Emerson forward. They positioned him in front of her and she leaned forward, her eyes so fierce that the mountain man felt them burning into him, even through his protective body suit.

'Can you hear me alright?' Her tone was mocking. 'Because I need to make sure you get this.'

'Loud and clear.' Replied Emerson reluctantly.

'I have a message for your leader.' Clarke spoke clearly and calmly, but her eyes flashed dangerously. 'We're coming for him. You're watching us but you haven't seen a thing. The grounder army is bigger than you think, and even if you could find it, your acid fog can't hurt them. And now, thanks to you,' Clarke reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the small tone generator, 'neither can the reapers.' Emerson's stoic expression faltered and Clarke smiled dangerously as she prepared her final blow. 'So you have one last chance. Let our people go and we'll let you live. It's just that simple.'

Emerson attempted an easy smile, but he knew that Clarke could see the fear in his eyes. 'I got it.'

She reached forwards suddenly and he froze, but she didn't touch him, instead she seized the oxygen gage attached to the side of his suit.

'It's an eight hour walk back to Mount Weather?' She asked with faux innocence, already knowing the answer. He glanced down nervously, seeing that the gage read 'nine hours'.

Staring into the eyes of the man who had her friends' blood coursing through his veins Clarke held down on the oxygen release, listening to the soft scream of oxygen escaping. She watched the growing panic in Emerson's eyes as the needle on the gage dropped from nine to eight, seven, six.

'You're gonna do it in six.'

'Six hours? That's not enough,' protested Emerson, 'how am I supposed to deliver your message?'

Clarke merely smiled. 'That's your problem. Now go.'

With one last glance at the apparently fearless leader of the sky crew, Emerson turned and walked briskly away from Camp Jaha, towards the dark forest, Clarke's ominous message echoing through his head, and he realised she had been right – he hadn't seen a thing. He had no idea how much the strength the sky people had, because of her.

She watched Emerson's retreating back for a few seconds, before turning and stepping back inside the camp. She met Octavia's eyes and could see that the confident woman had something to say.

'Clarke,' her voice was low, cautious of being overheard,' you wanna explain how this helps my brother?' She wasn't questioning Clarke exactly, she just wanted to know what was going on inside her head.

'I just told them we have a secret army they need to worry about,' she smiled cunningly, 'the more they're looking at us, the less they're looking at him.' Octavia looked back at Clarke in understanding, and she felt hope spread through her. Clarke was right, and she would do anything to protect her brother, just as she would.

'Bellamy is the key to everything, Octavia, if he dies, we die.' Clarke's voice was thick with emotion and Octavia's pride for her brother was met only by happiness that he had found someone who loved him as much as he loved her.

Walking together with the grounders, they returned to the camp, even more spurred on to finalise their plans.

The next day and Clarke returned to the mechanic room, this was the third time today she had been in and she was starting to panic.

'Has he checked in yet?'

'No.' Raven replied sympathetically.

Bellamy was almost an hour late to radio, and she couldn't help but think the worst.

'He's late, what if something's happened to him?' Raven turned and saw the panic in Clarke's eyes.

'He really is your kryptonite huh?'

Clarke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

'It's from an old earth comic book story, the hero, Superman, was undefeatable, except when confronted with kryptonite – his only weakness. Bellamy is yours – I heard about you letting Emerson go. 'Fearless' was the word Octavia used, but as soon as Bellamy's at risk…' she trailed off.

Clarke smiled in understanding, and Raven's attempt to lighten the mood. 'I didn't know you read comic books, I had a few of them back on the Ark.' Her smile faded, 'I can't let anything happen to him, but you're right, I can't let him be my…kryptonide?' She tried to repeat the phrase but Raven laughed, telling her she got it wrong.

'Kryptonite, but close enough. He'll be fine.'

The two women smiled at each other and Clarke made a note to appreciate Raven more, not only was she incredibly smart, but she was insightful too.

Clarke's eyes wandered to the notes strewn across the room. Written on the large, clear boards scattered around the room were dozens of diagrams, numbers, equations, and formulas that meant little to Clarke, but were obviously of great importance to Raven. The diagram closest to Clarke showed the dam that powered Mount Weather, covered in Raven's looped writing.

'You've been busy, why are you focusing on the dam?'

'I know you wanted to concentrate on the acid fog, but until Bellamy get eyes on their dispersal system, there's only so much I can do.' Clarke nodded tersely, accepting Raven's point.

'Okay, tell me about the dam. Can we cut off their power?'

'Maybe. I'm still playing with a few things.'

Suddenly the radio crackled to life and Bellamy's voice filled the room. 'Work station, do you read me?' Clarke rushed to the radio, Raven following. 'Anybody there?'

Grabbing the mic, Clarke raised it to her lips 'Bellamy you're late.'

Bellamy almost laughed out loud. Clarke was worried, and she was mad that he had made her worry.

'Every three hours means every three hours.'

'Are you through?' He said teasingly. There was a pause and he could picture Clarke breathing out, calming herself. His heart ached.

'Have you found the source of the acid fog?' She asked, her voice calmer.

'No, but that's going to have to wait.' Bellamy's deep voice had become serious again.

'What? No…'

'Our friends Clarke…they've started taking them from the dorm. One at a time, every few hours.' Clarke's stomach dropped. She couldn't talk.

Seeing her expression Raven leant forward, squeezing the mic around Clarke's hand. 'Taking them where?' She asked.

'I don't know.' Bellamy replied, his voice heavy. 'We tried to follow them but they went to a classified level. Maya borrowed the schematics of the vent system from her boss, and we're still trying to find a way in.' He turned to where the girl was pouring over the sheets of paper. 'Anything?' He asked her.

'I think I've found a path, but it's going to be tight. Here's the walkie Raven asked for, and the ear bud.'

Clarke heard Maya's faint voice and turned to Raven curiously.

'We're going to make a mobile, so he can talk to us from anywhere.'

Clarke nodded, impressed.

'Bellamy,' her voice was thick with emotion again, and Bellamy closed his eyes, 'you have to find them.' She implored.

'That's the plan.' His voice was gravelly.

'I have to go,' she said carefully, ignoring Raven's surprised glance, 'stay safe.'

'You too.' He clenched his fist and when he opened his eyes he knew she was gone. Maya watched him carefully, surprised to see the stoic man show such emotion, but she looked away as he turned to face her.

Within an hour Raven had talked Bellamy and Maya through making the mobile, and Bellamy was crawling through a maze of tight vents on his hands and knees. His limbs were aching and his shirt clung to his back. As the sweat dripped down his face he cursed silently for the hundredth time, trying to ignore how closely the vents resembled the claustrophobic cage he had been held in.

Raven's voice in his ear distracted him, 'tell us where you're at now.'

Us. Clarke was there. Steeling himself, Bellamy used the knowledge to push himself forwards and, miraculously, it worked.

'I'm at an intersection,' he replied, looking around the metallic vent system, 'which way?'

Clarke and Raven looked to the large diagram of the mountain that they had drawn up. 'He just passed the air filtration system on this floor,' said Raven, pointing to a level on the diagram, 'which puts him about here.'

Clare took the mic. 'Bellamy, we think you're close,' his heart picked up at her voice, 'the lab should be up ahead.'

'Any chance you can be more specific?' Clarke could hear the smirk in his voice, but she knew he was concerned.

Bellamy looked at the three vents in front of him, wondering which one to pick, when the sound of a drill reached him, coming from the right hand passage. Feeling his skin crawl, he followed the noise.

'Never mind.' Bellamy said grimly, and Clarke thought she heard drilling come from the radio.

The drilling got louder the further he crawled, and all three of them winced. After a few more seconds Bellamy rounded a corner and came to the large fan at the end of the vent. What he could see through the spinning blades made bile rise up his throat.

He knew Clarke had figured out what he was looking at as her voice came over the radio.

'Bone marrow extraction.' She said, horrified.

Before he could reply the woman in a white lab coat wielding the drill stopped, silence falling over the small room she was in. She stood next to a medical bed, drilling into the body of a member of the 100, Bellamy recognised him but couldn't remember his name, something beginning with T. Swallowing roughly, he watched as the female doctor, a petite woman with light brown skin and black hair, replaced the drill with a large syringe and embedded it into the thigh of the young boy lying on the table, before extracting his bone marrow with a sickening noise.

Turning from the boy's dead eyes, Bellamy followed the doctor's gaze as it landed on another man, a guard, sat on a chair on the other side of the room. A man in a light grey suit, his dark hair slicked back from his face, stood next to him. She crossed over to them as she spoke, walking past two rows of cages, identical to the ones they were holding the grounders in, the one he had been held in. 'Are you ready for the last treatment you'll ever need, Lieutenant?' Her voice was deceptively gentle.

'You have no idea,' the man's voice filled the radio and Clarke's eyes widened. 'I've waited my whole life to breathe fresh air.'

'That's Emerson.' Clarke said, shocked.

The suited man uncrossed his arms. 'Let's get back to this secret army she claims to have?' Clarke's ears pricked. 'Did she tell you anything that might help us find it?

'No sir, nothing about the army. She did say she was coming for you, and that if we let her people go, she'll let us live.'

Bellamy's mind whirred as he put the pieces into place. This was the man that Camp Jaha had captured, Clarke and Raven had told him a little about what had been happening whilst he was in the mountain.

'Well it's a little late for that.' The man in the suit said uncaringly, glancing into the furthest corner of the room where Bellamy saw another body on a bed, covered by a blue medical sheet. An arm hung off the edge of the bed though, and it was free of tattoos, meaning it wasn't a grounder, it was one of their friends.

Thinking back to what Maya had said, he offered a quick prayer that it wasn't Monty.

'Whitman just radioed in,' continued the suited man, 'apparently there's a war council meeting happening tonight in one of their villages. All their leaders are going to be there.'

'Sir I feel good,' Emerson's voiced filled the radio again, 'let me take a team out, support Whitman.'

'No, he has less chance of being spotted if he's on his own.'

'Sir, Whitman's good but he can't take out that many targets alone.'

Clarke held her breath. As Bellamy watched, the suited man smiled coldly.

'That's why we're going to use a missile.'


	27. Chapter 27

*Thank you so, so much for all the lovely reviews! They're honestly one of the main reasons that I'm so determined to finish this story!*

Bellamy crawled back into the vent system, waiting until he was far enough away from the room that he couldn't see or hear, or even smell any trace of it, and more importantly that he wouldn't be overheard.

'Please tell me you heard all that.' Bellamy's deep voice filled the room and Clarke's breath caught at the emotion in it. He was shaken.

'We heard it.' Reassured Clarke.

'We have to warn them!' Raven urged Clarke.

'Did Kane take a radio?'

'No, this is the only unjammed frequency, we have to keep it open for Bellamy.'

'If I leave now I can make it there in time.'

Bellamy dropped his head against the wall of the vent, squeezing his eyes closed. He barely breathe, let alone speak.

'It time to be blown up you mean.' Raven exclaimed, and Bellamy thanked the stars for the mechanic yet again.

'When I get back, I want to know our friends are safe, and the acid fog is down.'

Bellamy forced himself to speak. 'Clarke, no.' He choked out. 'You can't go there, its suicide.'

'Bellamy, I can do this, trust me.' She begged him and he wavered. He trusted her more than anyone. Suddenly a though occurred to him.

'Wait, you said Octavia was in Tondc when I left, is she…?'

'She's safe.'

'Clarke…'

'I'll get her Bellamy, I promise.'

Sighing, Bellamy dropped his head into his hands before replying desperately. 'You be safe, you promise me you'll be safe too.' He couldn't say more than that, he couldn't keep the terror out of his voice any longer. He was about to let the girl he loved travel to a marked village, where his sister currently was.

'Stay focused Bellamy, I mean it. Just know that I can do this, and I'll be back before you know it, but you have to stay focused. Please.'

There was a silence before Bellamy let out a breath. 'Okay.'

'I love you.' Said Clarke softly, saying goodbye.

'I love you too.' Bellamy's voice was barely a whisper, and Clarke handed the mic to raven without a word. She turned to leave but the mechanic called after her.

'Hey.' Clarke turned and Raven pulled her into a tight hug. 'Don't get blown up.' She said jokingly, but her eyes were serious as they stared into Clarke's

Clarke smiled, despite the magnitude of what she was about to do, and left the mechanical station. She was packed in minutes and on her way to Tondc on horseback with a grounder that Lexa had assigned to keep her safe.

In Mount Weather, Jasper, Monty and the rest of the 47 jumped up at the sound of the blaring alarm which meant that the guards would be in their dorm shortly to take another victim. They stood in rows at the back of the room as a group of guards entered, Dr Singh in the middle of them. The 47 linked their arms together, fighting back against the guards, but they weren't strong enough, and a young girl was picked off, Jasper lunged forward, as did many others, and aimed a punch at a guard. He ducked and grabbed Jasper's arm, twisting it behind his back and marching him to one side, but Jasper had been in this position before – he knew that the guard was putting only a fraction of the pressure he could have been on his arm. They stopped, Jasper facing the wall inbetween two of the bunk beds, the guard behind him.

'Are you trying to get yourself killed?' A deep voice asked exasperatedly and Jasper's head whipped around.

'Bellamy?' He exclaimed.

'Listen to me.' He said abruptly. 'They're killing them. Next time they come, you have to fight back harder than this. Do you understand?' Jasper nodded. 'Here take this, get everyone ready.' He felt the cold metal of a gun being pressed into his hands as Bellamy made a show of patting of him down to avoid suspicion from the other guards.

'Ready for what? What's the plan?' Jasper asked frantically.

'I'm working on it.' Bellamy's voice was rough.

'Find Dante, he's on our side, he'll help us.'

'Okay.'

'Hey,' another guard was yelling to him, 'everything ok over there?'

'Yes sir.' Barked Bellamy immediately before faking a hard punch to Jasper's stomach. Taking the cue, the boy crumpled to the floor groaning.

That evening, Bellamy arranged it so that he took Dante Wallace his evening meal. Fortunately, the guards were so distracted by what was going on with the 47, and didn't question him.

Inside the stark white room, Bellamy saw the intelligence in the older man's eyes as he looked at him, figuring out that he was not from the mountain. Dante turned the volume up on a record player that sat in the corner of the room without saying a word, and when the president was satisfied that no one would be able to hear a hushed conversation over the music, he gestured for Bellamy to set the tray of food he was holding on the table on the side of the room.

'Who are you?' He asked Bellamy quietly, his voice laced with the strength of a commander, even whilst being held in a cell.

'Jasper sent me. We need your help, your son is killing my friends.' Dante came to stand next to where Bellamy was unloading the tray, standing so that both their backs were turned to the camera over the door.

'I'm a prisoner, same as them.' Bellamy detected a hint of regret in the man's voice and realised that Jasper had been right, he was on their side.

'A prisoner who knows every inch of this mountain, every security measure.'

'Who's helping you?'

'That's not important right now.' Bellamy recognised that it was probably best not to mention Clarke's direct influence.

'After Clarke escaped I had all exits fortified and put under extra surveillance. My son had no doubt changed all access and entrance codes by now. You friends will never even make it off level 5.'

'I won't let them die here.' Bellamy said firmly. He couldn't have any more blood on his hands, he couldn't let Clarke down like that. But he shook those thoughts away, thinking about Clarke, and Octavia, in Tondc was dangerous now, he had to stay focused.

'I'm sorry.' Dante shook his head regretfully. 'I can't help them escape.' Bellamy's spine stiffened and he walked to the door with carefully controlled movements, anger seething in him. 'But I may be able to buy them some time.' He stopped.

Arriving in Tondc Clarke felt the time pressure pressing down her, she headed for Lexa's tent but bumped into Octavia before she could get there.

Taking one look at Clarke Octavia held out her hand, stopping her. 'What's wrong?' She asked, her eyes scanning Clarke for clues. 'Is Bellamy ready? Did he get the acid fog down?'

'He's working on it.' Whilst it wasn't a lie, there was a hint of falseness to the statement, and Octavia knew she was right to think something was wrong.

'Clarke, talk to me. Now.' Distantly, Clarke noticed that Octavia and Bellamy had the same 'I don't like not knowing what's going on so you're going to tell me right now' voice.

Sighing in defeat, she pulled Octavia to one side. 'Bellamy listened in on a conversation in the mountain. They're sending a missile here, tonight, on the command of one of their soldiers who we can only assume is hidden in the woods.' Her words came out in a rush, but she kept her voice low, aware of the grounders milling around her.

Octavia's face registered her shock but she was quick to deal with them, Clarke was impressed. 'How do we stop it?'

'I don't know, I'm going to talk to Lexa, I'll find you when I'm done.'

Octavia nodded, letting her pass, and watched with a heavy heart as Clarke ducked into Lexa's tent.

'We have to evacuate.' Clarke's voice was urgent. She stood next to Lexa by a large table which held a model of both their camps, and Mount Weather.

'No.' Lexa said coldly.

'What do you mean 'no' Lexa?' Her voice was harsh.

'If we evacuate they'll know we have a spy inside their walls.'

'Not necessarily.' But Clarke faltered, she couldn't risk Bellamy being found.

'We can't risk it.' Lexa's voice was hard, and Clarke was surprised at how calculating the grounder commander could be. In part, she wished she could become better at separating her feelings from what she needed to do, but to become so cold, so unfeeling, was it worth it?

'What's the point of having an inside man, if we can't act on what he tells us?' Clarke asked, frustrated.

Lexa's eyes narrowed. 'Is the acid fog disabled? Is our sleeping army uncaged?' Clarke prickled at the suggestion that Bellamy was failing. 'Then your man's job is not done.' Lexa finished harshly.

'So what are you saying? We just do nothing? Let them bomb us?' Clarke couldn't believe Lexa could value the lives of those inside Tondc so little, the lives of her own people, and the lives of Clarke's.

'It'll be a blow,' Lexa's voice was distressingly calm, 'but our army will be safe inside the woods. And it will inspire them.'

'And what about us? Where do we fit in your plan?'

'We slip away. Right now.'

Lexa turned but Clarke stayed where she was. 'You don't understand, I provoked Mount Weather, I sent a message to distract them from Bellamy.'

'Clarke sometimes you have to concede a battle to win a war.' She knew this to be true, but refused to accept defeat.

'No.' Clarke said firmly. She would not run from this. She left the tent without another glance and went to find, first her mother, and then Octavia.

Abby and Kane stood by the fire with a few Ark guards. 'Pack your things. Be ready to go as soon as possible. I'll explain later.' Clarke said lowly, looking at the two of them urgently. They nodded silently, recognising the urgency in the girl's eyes, and Clarke whirled back around to find Octavia without a moment to lose.

'Come with me.' She said when she found her, and was grateful when Octavia followed her out in to the woods without question.

After they were far enough away that they could barely hear the noise of Tondc, Clarke explained. 'Lexa wants us to run, to leave Tondc, to leave you, my mother, Kane, everyone behind, let them be bombed by the missile whilst we survive.'

Octavia's registered her shock but she let Clarke continue.

'So we have to find the man that Mount Weather has stationed here to give the order, and we have to stop him.'

Octavia nodded determinedly. 'You take that side, I'll go left.'

Bellamy crawled back into the vents, cursing yet again. Eventually he found the hatch he needed and, opening it, stepped onto a ladder leading down further than he can see. Looking up her realised he couldn't see the top of it either, just darkness.

'Talk to me,' Raven's voice was still clear in his ear, 'what do you see?'

'Close your eyes, imagine a bottomless pit.' He said dryly.

'Just stick with it, according to Dante's coordinates you're almost there.'

Bellamy took a deep breath in. 'What's happening on your end? Did they evacuate Tondc?'

'I don't know yet,' admitted Raven, 'but it's Clarke, she'll get it done. I know you're worried about her and Octavia, but you still have a job to do.'

Bellamy acknowledged it silently, climbing up the ladder with grim determination, feeling sweat drip down his face. Raven was right, Clarke could do this, she had to. 'Let's just get this done.' He sighed.

Trekking silently through the woods it took Clarke a little over five minutes before she saw Mount Weather's man, Whitman. Dropping to a crouch she watched as he brought a radio to his mouth and spoke into it quietly. As she approached she heard the last of his sentence. '…confirming coordinates now, over.'

Creeping up behind him, it wasn't until she had the knife pressing hard against his throat through his body suit that he even knew she was there.

'Radio.' Her voice was low. 'Now.'

Reluctantly, Whitman surrendered his radio, and, without loosening her grip on the knife, she held it her lips.

'This is Clarke, of the sky people, and the grounder army. I have your man. I found him carelessly wandering the woods, he's lucky it was me he bumped into.' Clarke had to make this look like a happy coincidence, Mount Weather couldn't know that she had known about the missile.

Cage Wallace froze over the keypad where he was preparing to type the launch codes. He needed those coordinates.

'Clarke, to what do I owe this pleasure?' The voice on the radio responded, but Clarke could hear in his voice that she had the upper hand, but she wondered how long that would last.

'You won't be getting those coordinates, and the village will be evacuated from whatever you have planned within ten minutes. Give up, and I'll spare your man's life.'

There was a long silence before the radio crackled into life in her hand. 'And if we don't? What if we sent a missile to your village right now? How many of you do you think could get far enough away from the blast in time?'

'How can you launch a missile without coordinates?' Clarke said coldly.

Cage slammed his fist on the table. 'Damn it.' He yelled, furious, before composing himself. 'Are you willing to gamble so much on your assumption that we don't have enough to go on to work out your position?'

Clarke hesitated, but then she caught a glimpse of Octavia in the tree line. 'Here.' She called, and her friend came running over.

'Are you sure he's the only one?' Octavia asked, pointing her chin at the man kneeling on the ground, the knife to his throat, and Clarke nodded firmly at her to show that she did, but she couldn't give any hint that she had existing knowledge so she replied 'he's the only one I could see, so I assume so.'

Octavia eyed the man before nodding in understanding. 'I'll go tell the others.'

'Find Kane and the chancellor first.' Clarke said, she didn't want to reveal that Abby was her mother in case the mountain men could use it against her.

Nodding again Octavia took off running back to the camp and Clarke lifted the radio once more. 'Evacuation has begun, your window has closed. You had better save that missile for a rainy day, you're too late.' Clarke said confidently, and a little smugly.

There was another long pause before the man replied. 'If we do that, you let our man go.'

'I only agreed to that if you willingly spared the village. But you didn't, I forced you to.' She hesitated long enough to panic both the man in front of her, and the man on the radio before she continued. 'But I'm feeling generous. Your man will be returned to you. You'll need as many men as you can get when we come for you.' She finished dangerously before releasing her hold on the mountain man. Then she dropped the radio on the ground and smashed it under her heel. 'Go, now, before I change my mind.' Barely glancing at her, Whitman took off into the forest and she turned back to the camp.

When she walked through the gates she saw that Octavia had done what she had asked and the sky people were packed and ready to leave. Lexa stood in front of her tent and, throwing an apologetic glance to her mother, Clarke walked over to her.

'I found the guard that the mountain men sent to hide in the trees and give the order to drop the missile. I used his radio to tell them to stop the attack, and that we had already begun evacuating, before he could give them the coordinates.' She stared at Lexa, her eyes like flint. 'You were willing to sacrifice hundreds of lives, because you think that emotions are weakness. Well you're wrong, emotions push you to save the people you care about, not give up on them and save yourself.' Lexa flinched slightly.

'The meeting. Stay for tonight, we will finish discussions-'

'No.' Clarke cut her off. 'You risked the lives of both our people today, we will return to Tondc in two days' time, have your leaders ready.'

Turning, Clarke walked to stand between Octavia and mother and waiting for the gates to be opened. When they were, the sky people began their journey back to Tondc. Fortunately, since they were all on horseback, they would be home by nightfall.

Bellamy's legs ached from climbing, but finally he was on the right level. Stepping out of the 'bottomless pit' the first thing Bellamy notices where huge metal cylinders lining the walls, marked with various warning labels. The next thing he noticed were the thousands of wires connected to dozens of machines.

Under Raven's instructions Bellamy crossed the room to a machine labelled 'filtration'. He began pulling out wires as Raven spoke to him. 'You have to pull the outside air in to reverse the air-filtration system.' They were working on Dante's assumption that as the majority of the mountain men wouldn't have had the bone marrow treatment yet, and a containment breach would buy the 47, or what was left of them, enough time to carry out the rest of Bellamy's plan.

'Just tell me how we know if it's even working.' Bellamy said tersely, wincing as a wire sparked against his fingertips. Suddenly a light in the corner of the room started to flash orange and an automated woman's voice came on over the PA system.

'Containment breach.' She said calmly, repeating the phrase over and over again.

'I'd say it's working.' Quipped Raven and Bellamy's breath escaped him in a short burst, something like a laugh.

'Thank you Mr President.' He said ironically, and Raven laughed too.


	28. Chapter 28

*Shout out to my Hungarian and Bulgarian readers! I've visited Budapest, and I've even ventured to Bratislava to visit a friend this Christmas, but I've never been down to Bulgaria, I hope to visit some day. Thanks so much for reading and please favourite/follow/review – this one's a long one, but I think the next chapter is when things get very interesting!*

Back on level five, Jasper organised the rest of his friends in the same defensive position they had been in last time, arms locked together, but this time he had Bellamy's gun in the waist of his trousers. The doors opened and the guards stormed in with Dr Singh once again. When she reached them, her eyes sweeping over the rows of teenagers, she pointed to Monty.

'This one.'

Chaos broke out as his friends rushed to protect him, but he was pulled forcefully from their arms by the guards.

'Stop.' Yelled Jasper, yanking the gun out and pointing it at Dr Singh. Her eyes widened but before she could do anything one of the guards holding Monty lunged towards Jasper. He turned and pulled the trigger instinctively. A shot rang out around the room as the guard fell against the nearest bunk bed, and everybody else froze.

'Take this one instead.' Dr Singh said, her eyes still wide with shock, and the guards swarmed Jasper, dragging him out of the room as he fought. 'And search the rest.' She yelled to the remaining guards, walking after Jasper, the click of her heels echoing as she left the room.

Jasper's mind raced as he was dragged to an elevator. Dr Singh swiped her security card, but before the elevator could reach their level, both the doctor, and all five of the guards began to gasp and moan. Jasper stared around wildly and saw that their skin was turning red and beginning to blister.

'There's been a containment breach.' Dr Singh gasped into her radio, sinking to the floor along with the guards, leaving Jasper standing, free. His brain clicked and he knew who had done this. Bellamy.

Racing back to the dorm he had broken the rest of their friends out, and together they ran back through the corridors of level five to the elevator, finding the guards lying on the floor, struggling to breathe.

'Let's go!' Yelled Japer, 'This is our chance, everybody move. Take the level, Monty get the camera's.' The elevator dinged, alerting Jasper to Dr Singh crawling inside. 'Get their guns!'

Before the doors could close, Jasper thrust the metal pole from one of the beds into the doors, causing them to slide back open. Looking down at the blistered face of Dr Singh he could only think of the friends he had lost to the woman.

'No,' she moaned, 'you can't.'

'I hope you know you're incredibly special to us.' Jasper spat, echoing the same thing Dr Singh had told them, the first time she had taken one of them for the bone marrow transplant. He barely even flinched as she cried out in pain, her face blistering until it was barely recognisable.

When they were sure she was dead, they moved to the mess hall, barricading themselves in using whatever furniture they could, and arming themselves with what weapons they could find.

Smashing the safety glass, Japer pulled the axe free from its resting place on the wall and turned to see what his friends had accomplished.

'Look out.' A girl shouted from his right, and he turned to see her smashing the security camera in the mess hall.

'Good Fox, let's go get those hallway camera's.'

'Nope,' Monty swept past him, 'leave the hallway cameras, we'll need eyes out there.'

'You can do that?' Asked Jasper, impressed.

'Have you met me?' Replied Monty and the two boys grinned at each other.

'Where are we on the doors?' Japer asked him, walking across the room.

'The elevators are all disabled and I shorted the other stairwell locks.' The two boys looked at each other solemnly now, both wondering how long they could hold off the mountain men.

Their answer came about an hour later. A team of mountain men broke down the doors, they fought violently, desperately, and they retreated. Taking Fox with them.

'Jasper, help me!' Her screams echoed down the corridor and Miller had to hold Jasper back as he struggled to go after her.

'I promised her,' he cried, 'I promised she'd be ok.'

Silence fell over the room as the mourned the loss of another of their friends.

Fox kicked and screamed as two guards carried her down the corridor after corridor until they reached a small room, lined with cages, with a medical bed on one end, and a chair on the other.

'I'll prep the bed.' Said one of the soldiers carelessly, letting go of Fox's arm. Taking the opportunity she pushed the other into one of the rows of cages, wincing at the crack his skull make against the metal. She fled back to the door but was stopped short when another guard appeared in the doorway gun raised.

'Thanks.' Said the first guard breathlessly, but before he could step towards Fox the guard in the doorway fired two shots, killing both guards instantly.

Fox shook in fear as the remaining guard stepped up to the bodies, checking that they were dead before he took of the goggles and helmet obscuring most of his face revealing…Bellamy.

Fox threw herself into his arms, sobbing as his strong arms came up to hug her back gently. 'Are you ok?' He asked gruffly as Maya stepped into the room.

'Come on, we have to get her someplace safe.' She said, and Bellamy nodded.

The remainder of the day Maya and Bellamy transported the rest of the teenagers into the homes of people willing to help hide them from the guards. Maya told them of a resistance movement that her mother had been part of that didn't support the use of outsider blood. The resistance had gotten her mother killed.

When Jasper saw Bellamy again he threw himself at his friend, pulling him into a tight hug, just he had done when Murphy had tried to kill him, and Bellamy had saved him, all those weeks ago.

'Hey listen to me,' Bellamy said carefully, 'Clarke is coming with an army of grounders, we have to keep all of you safe until then.' Just like always, his heart swelled at her name.

'Don't tell me Finn finally got his peace talks?' Joked Jasper, and Bellamy felt pain lance through his heart instead.

'Something like that.' He said sadly. 'Come on, we've got a lot of work to do.'

Together, they followed Maya to meet her father, who in turn led Jasper and Maya to the final safe house, assuring them that the rest of their friends were safe, in other safe houses throughout the mountain. It wasn't much, but it was all they had, the just had to trust that these people wanted what was right.

Once the last of his friends was safe, Bellamy turned and focused on staying out of sight of the remaining few cameras. Now he needed to concentrate on taking out the acid fog, before Clarke could get here with her army. Time was running out, but the mountain men still didn't know he was there, he had to keep it that way.

Clarke returned to Camp Jaha that night but she didn't unpack. She would return to Tondc tomorrow, alone, no longer happy to risk the lives of her people under Lexa's decision making. For now though, she needed to know if Bellamy was alright.

She raced to the mechanical station, startling Raven as she burst through the door.

'Slow down,' she said teasingly, 'he's fine. Him and Maya have hidden our friends inside the mountain, they're staying with people who don't support Cage.' Clarke's eyesbrows rose. 'I know, it seems risky, but Bellamy trusts these people, he said they truly want to help. He's already checked in for today, he's gone to find Maya and get some rest, you can talk to him first thing tomorrow.'

Clarke nodded, 'thank you Raven.'

'No problem, now go, you need rest too, god knows I do.'

Clarke smiled before leaving the room, knowing Raven was right.

The next morning Clarke was there a few moment after Raven arrived.

'can I talk to him?'

'Go ahead, he can't always reply, but be my guest.' Raven chuckled.

Clarke walked to the radio and took a deep breath before picking up the mic. 'Bellamy?' She asked cautiously.

'Clarke.' He breathed immediately. 'You're alive.' His shoulders sagged in relief and she could hear the smile in his voice.

'I'm alive, I found the man, Whitman, and Octavia and I stopped the missile yesterday.'

'Octavia, is she…?'

'She's fine, she found Lincoln. They're back at camp now.' She paused, letting the news sink in for Bellamy, and struggling to find her next words. 'Bellamy…Lincoln told me what happened, in the tunnels. He told me what they did to you.' Bellamy's heart clenched and his throat tightened. 'I'm so sorry.' Clarke sobbed, and Bellamy felt tears prick his own eyes.

'Clarke, it's ok.' Bellamy's voice was tender. 'You got me through it.'

Clarke's hand shook around the mic, 'me?' She whispered.

'The whole time, I thought of you.' Bellamy said gently, and Clarke's heart ached. 'I'm glad you're ok.'

'Me too.' She said, holding back her tears now.

'Thank you, for Octavia.' He added and Clarke couldn't help but laugh through her tears.

'I couldn't leave her, I couldn't.'

'I know. So what next?'

'I go back to Tondc tomorrow, alone, and Lexa and I will begin to move the grounder army into position. We just need the acid fog disabled.'

'I'll get it done.' Bellamy said determinedly.

'I know you will, and Bellamy,' Clarke said softly, determined to soothe him, 'our friends are safe because of you.'

'Not quite, but I bought them some time.'

'That's all we need.' She said reassuringly, and then there was silence for a while as they both processed the events of the day, and what was still to come, revelling in the fact that the other was still alive, and feeling at least one of their worries disappear, lightening their burden just that little bit.

Raven cleared her throat, 'guys, sorry to break it up, but I'm gonna need Bellamy back, he has to get to the mechanical and engineering level by tonight.'

'You heard the woman.' Joked Bellamy and Clarke smiled.

'He's all yours.' She replied, laughing slightly.

Clarke left to return to Tondc, leaving Raven to talk Bellamy through where he needed to go.

A few hours later and he was standing just outside the door onto the level he needed to be at, but his key card wasn't letting him in, looking around at the large space he was in, his eyes scanned for another door.

'Bellamy come in' Raven said impatiently in his ear again.

'Yeah I'm a little busy here, Raven.' She frowned as she heard the stress in his voice.

'Did you find the source of the acid fog yet?'

'I'm making my way there now, it's taking longer than I thought.'

'I don't know enough to crack it on this end, you've got to give me something.'

'I'm working on it.' He replied gruffly, trying another door. 'Something's wrong.'

'What?' Raven said worriedly.

'My key card isn't working.' He admitted, sounding frustrated.

'That's not good.'

'I need to find another way in, I'll call you back.' Raven's brow furrowed deeper as the connection cut off.

Before he could locate another entrance, a door to Bellamy's right opened and two guards stepped through, guns trained on him. 'Crap' he thought, before throwing himself up a set of stairs on his left. Doing exactly as he'd hoped, the guards ran after him, but didn't fire. They wanted him alive.

'In pursuit of the target,' Bellamy heard one of the guards shout into a radio, 'it's not Lovejoy, repeat, it's not Lovejoy.'

Bellamy ran faster, taking the stairs three at a time and using the railing to pull his weight up faster. The stairs wound their way up for several levels, connecting to railing that wrapped around the large area that almost resembled a warehouse of sorts. He took a sharp right and ran down a corridor, past a sign that told him he was on level six. He reached another set of stairs and this time he threw himself back down them, jumping down each flight of steps to save time, ignoring the sharp pain on the soles of his feet each time. He quickly reached the base level, where he had originally wanted to be, but one of the guards was right behind him. Ducking around a corner Bellamy waited for him to pass before tackling to the ground and knocking him unconscious. Panting, he searched the guard, taking his key card, a small flamethrower and his gun, and turned to the nearest door. He slipped through it quickly and let it fall closed behind him whilst he caught his breath.

In front of him were more huge metal cylinders, and a gigantic metal container connected to a huge pipe that ran along the top. They were also marked with labels, only these ones read 'toxic', 'hazardous', 'flammable', and 'chemical storage' and the hot air was thick with chemicals. There was one machine that Bellamy could see, positioned in the middle of the room, facing the row of cylinders.

Scanning the room, Bellamy broke an axe out of a glass case that sat in the wall and used it to break the security key scanner and jam the door shut, then he returned his attention to the rest of the room.

'Raven, come in.' Bellamy's voice filled the mechanical room and drew the attention of both Raven, and Wick, and engineer who she had called to help. Cocky and irritating, Raven couldn't deny she found him charming. 'I made it in. I hope you have a plan.' Bellamy said in that almost sarcastic voice her used, eyeing the cylinders and the machine with equal bewilderment.

'We're still working on it.' Admitted Raven, causing Bellamy to frown. 'Give us something to go on.' She said, unconsciously moving closer to Wick, their arms brushing together. 'What do you see?'

Bellamy shook his head, staring around the room, 'a huge steel vat, looks like a submarine,' he told her, conjuring the image up from a book he read once. 'Some other tanks with chemical formulas and warning labels.' He walked around the room. 'A bunch of pipes, going into the wall. A monitor.' He finished, coming to stand by it.

'Ooh, go to the monitor.' Wick grabbed Raven's hand around the mic, speaking into it excitedly.

'Hello to you too.' Said Bellamy, his tone definitely sarcastic now, and Raven's mouth quirked into a half smile.

'Don't mind Wick,' she joked, 'he's trying to help.'

'Hey.' He protested, but grinned none the less, before turning serious. 'Bellamy, how's my boy Monty doing?'

Bellamy guessed that they were from the same station. 'Fine, yeah. But I don't know for how long…'

'Great, pleasantries over, listen, if that monitor is a control panel then we can use it to kill this thing. Look for a pH scale.'

Bellamy stared at the monitor, numbers and words jumping out at him but he couldn't make any sense of them. 'Right well there's a scale, but the rest uh…S3, V2, O5, H2, S2, O7…' Bellamy trailed off, the random letters and numbers meaning nothing to him. 'Look, can I just blow this thing?'

Raven rolled her eyes, thinking how very Bellamy that was, before responding. 'No.'

Wick grabbed her hand again, 'no they'll know their defences are down, they'll send a tech to fix it, reroute it, or pull out a weapon we don't even know about.'

'Plus,' said Raven, pulling the mic back, 'you'd probably melt your face off.'

Bellamy winced, sighing.

'Look, you know I like a good explosion,' Raven quipped, 'but we've gotta think our way through this one. We can do this.' She looked at Wick to find he was already looking at her, grinning. He nodded and she took a deep breath in, sitting down at a work station as Wick sat next to her, taking the radio. 'Here we go.'

Bellamy raised his eyebrows but looked over the machine again. 'Ok uh…level indicator?'

'Nope.' Wick's voice sounded in his ear.

'Do you see an actuator anywhere?' Raven asked.

Bellamy looked around, throwing an arm out even though they couldn't see. 'I have no idea what that is.' He said drily.

Raven dropped her head into her hands as Wick took the mic. 'Come on what else?'

'Internal pressure sensor?' Bellamy read.

'Nope.' Wick said again.'

'Set point and alarm?'

'Let's avoid that one.' Said Wick wryly and one side of Bellamy's mouth lifted.

'Maintenance and cleaning?'

Wick raised the mic again but Raven stopped him. 'Wait,' she said softly, 'corrosion.' He looked at her, frowning slightly, so she elaborated. 'The protective oxide film would have to be restored in tanks this old. They need to be cleaned.'

'And neutralised.' Finished Wick. 'Bellamy, go to that subdirectory, see if there's anything that says 'passivation'.'

Bellamy pressed the screen and a new set of headings came up, 'ok I got it.' He clicked on the one that read passivation, taking him to another screen, one with a gage on it, with a scale from 0 to 14, and a needle pointing to 0. 'It says 'Aqueous Sodium Hydroxide Bath.'

'That's a base, that'll neutralise the acid, select that.' Wick's voice was excited.

Shrugging, Bellamy did, and one of the machines started to hum. 'It's doing something.'

Raven and Wick grinned at each other, 'you should be able to hear the pumps' she said.

'I can hear them.' Confirmed Bellamy. 'The needle's moving on the monitor, the pH is rising.'

'It's working.' Said Wick, continuing to grin at Raven.

After a while the machine beeped and the needle came to stop at 7. 'Passivation successful.' Bellamy read off the screen, smiling in relief.

'Yes!' Raven and Wick jumped up, hugging each other, before either of them knew why, they were kissing and Wick was lifting her up on the table, pulling her shirt off, kissing down her neck, kicking their shoes off.

Bellamy turned from the machine, grabbing the flamethrower off the floor when he noticed another gage on the side of one of the tanks. It read pH on the top but the needle pointed to 0, not 7. Racing back to the monitor he saw that it still read 7, meaning that the monitor he was using no longer connected to the cylinders.

'Raven, something's wrong.' But he couldn't hear anything, not even the static he usually heard in the background on the radio. His communications were cut. Mount Weather knew what he was trying to do.

Cursing Bellamy searched around frantically for something, anything he could use, but too soon, he heard the door above him being forced open, and he knew the axe wouldn't hold for long.

He clenched his fist around the flamethrower he still held in his hand. Raven had said he couldn't blow the place because it would blow his cover. Well his cover was already well and truly blown. Moving as fast as he could he positioned the flamethrower so that the flame hit the side of a cylinder marked 'flammable' then he launched himself across the room as the door burst open and guards rushed in.

'On my lead,' he heard one of the guards say as he ducked behind another cylinder, eyeing up the nearest grate to him. It looked like he would be back in the vents again. 'He's armed, don't be a hero.' The guard spoke again and Bellamy's lip curled. These men definitely weren't heroes.

Steeling himself Bellamy shot out from behind the cylinder and threw himself into the open grate, as the guards opened fire. Turning onto his back to pull both his gun, and the gun he took from the guard he knocked out earlier, out of his trousers.

'Cease fire!' The same guard who had spoken earlier yelled. 'Don't hit the tanks!' He stressed, and Bellamy grinned.

Two of the guards peered into the grate and he fired off a few rounds, shuffling backwards. Once he was sure that they weren't going to shoot again, he turned onto his hands and knees and pushed himself through the vents, knowing he only had moments before the flamethrower ignited whatever was in the cylinder.

He heard the explosion as he rounded the last corner of the vent, seeing another open grate in front of him. A second later he heard two screams, presumably from guards who had followed him, and he threw his body forward just as the force of the explosion pushed him the rest of the way.

The heat was unreal, but Bellamy had dropped out of the vent and onto the floor before any real damage could be done. The smell of burning filled his nose and he pushed himself to the side of the small room he had dropped into, coughing. He lay on his back and his coughs turned to laughter as he realised that he had done it. He had disabled the acid fog, and gotten his explosion. Now Clarke and her army were safe. He had last spoken to her about 9 hours ago, so he guessed that the grounder army were just about to enter the area Mount Weather controlled using the fog by now, assuming that they had begun to march for the mountain in the early morning, which, if Clarke had her way, they would have done. He smiled wider at the thought of her, at the thought that soon this would be over and they're friends would be safe and they could be back where they belonged. Together.


	29. Chapter 29

*Shout out to my readers in Greece! I'm planning a summer holiday to Crete with my flatmates right now, but I've been four times already, to both the mainland and the islands, and I fell in love more and more every time. I especially love Santorini, Rhodes and Delphi! Thanks so much for reading and please favourite/follow/review! I'm changing the story a little more, to save you from some of the heartbreak – I know I can't go through it all again*

The grounders set up camp just outside of where the acid fog could reach. It had been a long trek to get this far, but Lexa knew how to inspire an army, and the grounders' morale was running high at the thought of bloodshed and vengeance. They marched on the mountain tomorrow.

Turning, she saw Octavia out of the corner of eye, obviously trying not to be seen. When she realised she was caught she walked up to Clarke sheepishly.

'You do realise your brother's going to kill me when he realises you're here right?' Clarke asked, her eyebrows raised.

'No way,' Octavia replied jokily, 'he'll be so overjoyed at seeing you again that he'll forget to be angry.' Clarke blushed. 'Besides, you didn't seriously think I would stay behind did you?'

Smiling in acknowledgement at the stubborn girl in front of her, an expression similar to the one Bellamy often wore flashing across her face, Clarke knew that she had a point. Of course she would have come here anyway. 'I assume Lincoln's here as well then.' Clarke smiled, knowing when she was defeated.

Octavia grinned guiltily and she sighed dramatically, fighting to keep the smile off her face.

'We march in one hour, into the acid fog zone. Assuming Bellamy's managed to disable the fog, we should be at Mount Weather by nightfall.'

'He's done it, I know he has.' Octavia said assuredly, and Clarke smiled again, nodding. It was refreshing to have someone else who believed in Bellamy as much as she did.

Together, the two girls walked through the camp, discussing what was to come, occasionally falling into comfortable silence. After a while Lincoln joined them as well and they sat together around a small fire, waiting for Lexa to give the order. When she finally did, Clarke and Octavia were on the front line, next to Lexa, leading their people together.

Picking himself up from the ground, Bellamy dusted himself off, caught his breath, and set off again. Crawling back through the vents he navigated his way back to the room he was first held in, following the sounds of the grounders rattling their cages until he reached the end of the vent. Pushing it from the wall he dropped to the ground and made his way over to the cage that held the grounder who had helped him. Pulling a key out of his pocket he started to open the lock on her cage, she turned to look at him, eyes first registering fear before she recognised him.

'Get up, it's time to go. I told you I'd come back for you.' He said, smiling reassuringly, helping her out of the cage. 'Come on out, our people are marching on Mount Weather right now.'

Working quickly, Bellamy unlocked the rest of the cages, and the grounder woman, Echo, calmed them down, told them what to do.

When the grounders were ready she turned back to Bellamy, 'ok, how do we do this?' Her voice held quiet determination and her eyes were steady. She reminded him of Clarke.

'The army will go for the main door, when they get it open, all hell will break loose. That is the signal for my friends to come here, and then-'

Bellamy was interrupted by a man's voice on the PA. 'My fellow citizens,' said Cage slowly,' this is your president speaking. I have news to share with you that will change all of our lives, forever,' Bellamy's heart felt tight in his chest. 'For 97 years, Mount Weather has been our home, it's kept us alive, but it had also kept us captive. Most of us have made peace with what we've had to do to survive. We've done these things for one reason – so that our people could someday return to the ground. That day is today.'

Bellamy's heart tightened again. His friends. 'He's going public.' He muttered. Their time was up.

'Before my friend, Lorelei Singh, was murdered by the outsiders, still at large in this mountain, she found a cure. It was in their bone marrow.'

Bellamy thrust the key into Echo's hand, turning on his heel and heading back towards the grate leading to the vent he came in through.

'Wait,' she cried after him, 'where are you going?'

'He's trying to get his people to turn on each other. They'll find my friends, I have to bring them here now. I'll send them in groups. You get your people ready to go, but you wait for me to come back, do you understand?'

Echo nodded and he turned back to the grate. 'Wait,' Echo grabbed his arm, pulling him to face her again. 'Thank you.' She said sincerely.

'You free your people, protect mine when they get here. We can thank each other when we're all outside.' He knew how hard it must have been for the grounder to thank him, the person she had been told was her enemy.

She nodded again and he ducked into the vent. He had to save his friends before it was too late. Cage's voice followed him through the vents.

'This had been the dream of our people since the bombs. But to reach it now, I need your help. The 44 criminals that irradiated level 5, killing 15 of our people, are now keeping us from that dream. Although we've repaired our home, we can never replace the lives that were so viciously taken from us. Yet as hard as it is to believe, there are those among us who would help the people who did this, and I am speaking to you now. If you truly want to end the blood treatments once and for all, then the 44 murderers you're now hiding are the key to doing that. You have one hour to turn them in without punishment, after that we'll be forced to consider you enemies of the state. I'm asking you, please, do what's right by your people, our people, so that we can all take our rightful place on the ground. We're almost home.'

Bellamy's mind raced as he crawled, he couldn't believe how difficult this was, and not for the first time, he seriously doubted if they would be able to do this.

The army marched until they could see Mount Weather, rising from the trees. They stopped just outside the forest, a few hundred feet from the mountain, and built their camp, preparing their attack.

Clarke was in Lexa's tent, Lincoln at her side, for he wasn't ready to re-enter the tunnels, when a grounder entered, clearing his throat, but it wasn't until Lexa spoke that Clarke dragged her eyes from the plans she was looking at, to the entrance.

'Welcome Sky Crew.'

Clarke's head shot up and she watched as a number of the Ark guards walked in. She saw Miller's father and Monroe amongst them, and was grateful for the familiar faces. She had requested a guard to come to the grounder camp, but the rest of the Sky People had different jobs to do. Miller's father walked up to her, a small metal cylinder in his hand.

'Hydrazine,' he said, handing it to her, 'Raven said it would do the job.' Clarke eyed the seemingly innocuous canister that would create the perfect explosion to blow the door to the mountain, granting them access. 'And Clarke,' he continued, 'your mother wanted to be here.'

'Our wounded need her more.' Nodded Clarke, grateful that her mother had done what Clarke had asked her to, and stayed where she wasn't in danger.

After he was done, he stepped into the circle formed by the remaining representatives of the twelve clans, and Lexa began to speak.

'Field commanders, today is the day we get our people back. The enemy thinks it's safe behind its doors, but it's not. When it realises that it will fight back, hard. We need to be ready.' Lexa turned to Clarke.

'This is a rescue mission, we are not here to wipe them out. There are people inside that mountain that have helped us. Children, who have nothing to do with this war. We kill their soldiers, their leadership if we have to. But we are there to rescue our people. Is that clear?' A murmur of 'yes' spread through the circle. 'Then let's begin.'

Clarke explained the layout of the mountain and the concept of their attack – four teams. Raven and Wick would blow the dam, cutting out their power, and turning off the door locking mechanism to the huge door into the mountain, they were already there. Octavia was with Indra and a team of both grounders and sky people, in the tunnels underneath the mountain, preparing to enter. The third team was both their people inside the mountain. The fourth – them. The massive army preparing to march on the mountain, distracting the mountain men from the people inside the mountain for as long as possible.

Jasper listened to the new president's announcement, his heart in his throat, eyeing the couple who were hiding him and Maya. Cage was smart, he had to give him that. The couple looked at each other for a moment, a silent conversation passing between them, before the man rose from the chair he had been sat in, ushering both him and Maya into a hiding space behind a cupboard in their living room. Standing in the silence, Jasper thanked the heavens for the couple, as there was a heavy knock on the front door.

'Yes?' He asked politely.

'Step aside please.' Said one of the two guards who were stood outside the door. From where he hid, Jasper could see them step around the man and begin to search the room.

'What's wrong?' Asked the man, appearing entirely clueless.

'We'll just be a moment.'

Jasper swallowed, reaching for Maya's hand in the dark, grateful that she was next to him.

'If you tell us what you're looking for, maybe we can help you?' Said the wife politely, but her voice betrayed some of her fear.

'You know what we're looking for.' Said one of the guards firmly.

'Honestly we don't.' Protested the man.

'According to your neighbours, you brought extra food home last night and this morning.' Maya squeezed Jasper's hand.

'That's not true.' The man denied weakly.

'Is it true that you've refused treatment 12 times in the past 15 years?' The guard turned to the wife, still sat in her chair, 'Or that you've refused them 30 times? Do you deny that?'

'We take the blood when we need it.' She said, her voice becoming more determined. 'We don't take extra food.'

'Then you've got nothing to worry about.' Said the first guard coldly, whilst the other guard continued to search the room.

There was a silence, then the second guard drew his gun. 'Where are they?' He barked. 'There are water rings on the table,' he explained to the other guard over his shoulder, 'there were two more cups there.'

'Just hold on.' The man protested again.

'You have five seconds to cooperate.' The guard yelled, beginning to count down. 'One, two, three.' The woman sobbed as he pointed his gun at her, 'four, five.'

He clicked the gun and she sobbed again. 'Wait.' Cried Jasper, jumping out from his hiding place. 'Don't shoot! Don't shoot!' We're here, ok, just leave them alone.'

'I'm so sorry.' The man looked at Jasper, tears in his eyes, but he shook away his apologies, the man had risked both his life, and the life of his wife to help them.

The guard looked from them to the couple, shaking on the sofa, before firing two shots, killing them instantly.

'No!' Cried Jasper as the second guard handcuffed him and Maya, shock on both of their faces. The guard had gotten what he wanted, and he still killed them. Cage had lied.

They were led through the tunnels, together with Miller and Fox who had also been found, by the two guards, when their path was blocked by Maya's father. She begged him to turn back, but he refused.

'Don't make me do this Vincent.' Warned one of the guards.

'I'm sorry Paul.' Maya's dad replied, stepping towards him.

The guard, Paul, raised his gun, aiming it at Vincent. 'I have orders.'

A shot echoed out, but it was the guard that crumpled, not Vincent. Everybody froze, including the second guard, before a grate in the side of the wall was kicked out. Bellamy stepped out, gun still raised.

'Thank you.' Maya's dad said gratefully.

'Good job.' Bellamy nodded at him.

The second guard launched himself at Bellamy, but before he could, Miller threw his hands around his neck from behind, using his handcuffs to cut off his air supply, wrestling him to the ground as he blacked out, before smacking his head against the side of the wall.

Bellamy watched as he stepped away from the guard, seeing his friend for the first time in weeks.

'Miller, you ok?' His eyes scanned him quickly as he held his wrists, wincing.

'Better than you.' He replied wryly and Bellamy's mouth quirked on one side. He was fine. Jasper took the keys to the handcuffs from the unconscious guard and freed them quickly.

'Ok get everyone to the harvest chamber, you'll be safer there.' Bellamy said gruffly.

There was pause before Miller spoke incredulously. 'Safer in the harvest chamber?'

'Just trust me.' Sighed Bellamy and Miller and Jasper shrugged.

'Are the others there?' Jasper asked

'Not yet.'

'Monty?'

'Monty's with the other group on level 3.' Vincent interjected. 'We moved them after the last sweep, you'll want to go there next.'

Bellamy nodded. 'Ok, go on, Vincent will take you to the chamber, I won't be long.' He turned but was stopped by Jasper's voice.

'Hey, I'm coming with you.' He held the dead guard's gun in his hands. Bellamy eyed the boy, impressed by his braveness.

'Jasper…'

'I promised I'd protect them, that's exactly what I'm going to do.'

Unable to argue with that, Bellamy nodded. 'Let's go.' Maya moved to follow them.

'Maya.' Vincent called, gesturing her to follow him, but she didn't.

'I'll be ok.' Her eyes pricked with tears

Vincent walked over to her, reaching up to cup her cheek. 'Your mother would be so proud.' He said, his voice emotional. 'I'll see you soon. Be careful.'

Maya threw her arms around his neck. 'You too.' She said, holding back tears, before running after Jasper and Bellamy.

Clarke and rest of the army gathered around the door to the mountain as Monroe drilled a whole large enough to fit the explosive cylinder into. When Raven gave the word that the power was out, they would detonate the bomb and open the door. For now, they pulled back 50 feet or so, leaving a clearing between them and the door.

Octavia and Indra crept through the tunnels with their team, which included Jackson, the medic that always followed around after Abby. After one encounter with the reapers, in which they found that Raven's replica tone frequency generators worked, they found the entrance into the mountain, now they had to wait for the order to enter.

At the dam, Raven and Wick had finally set the detonators on all five of the dam turbines, they pressed the button and ran for their lives. The forced of the explosion sent them flying, but they were alive.

At the gate, Clarke sighed in relief. The ground they stood on rumbled and the lights either side of the huge metal door, 100 feet away from them, had died. Raven and Wick had done it – they had blown the damn. 'She did it.' She breathed. Gripping the controller in her hand she pulled the trigger and the bomb blew, but before they could reach the door, the mountain men opened fire. They were hidden along the mountain, above the doorway, and there was no way through. They would slaughter them before they made it half way there.

'We need to get to that ridge and take out the shooters.' Barked Lexa. 'Stay here, protect Clarke.' She ordered Lincoln, who nodded. 'When the shooting stops, get that door open.' And within a minute she had gone, taking a small team of grounders with her.

Inside the mountain the remaining teenagers gathered in the harvest chamber, helped by Miller and Fox, whilst Bellamy found himself in yet another vent. He was starting to feel too at home in them, he though dryly. At least this time Jasper and Maya were there too.

'We don't have much time,' he said, climbing out onto a corridor on level three, 'the last twelve are on this level.'

'Including Monty.' Said Jasper, climbing out behind him and helping Maya do the same.

'This way.' She said, and they followed her across the floor.

A male voice came on the PA warning about a level lockdown and Maya froze.

Whirling around, Jasper saw the fear in her eyes. 'Listen to me, it's going to be ok, we're not going to let anything happen to you, will we?'

Bellamy winced but shook his head.

'Jasper, in thirty minutes all the backup power gets diverted for species continuity. That means level five for life support and security, radiation will seep in everywhere else. I can't go to level five without being shot in the head.'

'Guys,' Bellamy said gruffly, but gently, 'we need to keep moving.'

'I'll get you your hazmat suit, and enough oxygen to last until this is all over, then we'll figure out a plan.'

Jasper took off running before either of them could say another word.

'Jasper.' Bellamy yelled after him, but the boy didn't stop.

'I'll be back in five minutes.'

'He must really love you.' He noted dryly, and Maya blushed.

Jasper was back in four, hazmat suit under his arm. He thrust it at Maya urgently. 'I'm not letting anything happen to you.' He said firmly.

Maya gripped his hand in hers and quickly put on the suit.

'Ok, let's go.' Said Bellamy and they took off again. A gunshot echoed around the corridor they were in and they followed it grimly. As they rounded a corner they saw a young woman lying dead, a gunshot wound to her head.

'It's Mrs Ryan,' Maya said sadly, 'she was hiding the last 12, they must have taken them to level 5.'

'Then let's go.' Jasper said immediately but Bellamy put a hand out to stop him.

'We have to think, every soldier in the mountain is going to be on level 5, tell him Maya.'

'Yes, but Jasper's right, after the lockdown it'll be impossible to get them, it's now or never.'

Bellamy nodded in acceptance and they stepped inside the nearest elevator, the one that had almost definitely just been used to take their friends to level 5.

But before the doors could close a noise drew their attention, gripping his gun, Bellamy stepped out again peering into the darkness he could see a face. He drew his gun up but he recognised the face. Monty.

'They know about the grounders.' He said shakily.

'What?'

'They know, I heard a soldier's walkie, they're heading for the harvest chamber now.'

Bellamy's heart dropped. 'If they take it, we lose everyone.'

Grabbing Monty, the four of them ran to the chamber, knowing they had no time to spare, if they weren't already too late.

By the gate, Clarke and Lincoln stood cautiously from the boulder that the gunfire had had them pinned behind for the last 20 minutes or so. There was nothing, only silence, no more gunshots.

'Lexa did it.' Remarked Lincoln, but Clarke felt cold. What had Lexa done to get the mountain men to stop firing? There had been no fight that they had heard.

Before she could dwell on it the grounders had surged forwards, attaching ropes to the door. The fell into formation and heaved, pulling the huge metal door open.

'Attack!' Cried Clarke, but before the grounders could take a step, Lexa's voice cut through the war cries.

'Stand down!' She ordered in Trigedasleng, but Clarke understood.

'What?' She gasped, mostly to herself, as Lexa marched calmly towards her, a mountain man at her side. It was Emerson. 'What is this?' She asked coldly, fearing she already knew the answer.

Lexa stared at Clarke, without a hint of regret in her eyes, as a man cried out behind them 'they're coming out.' Clarke turned to see a hundred or so weak, previously captured grounders emerging from the mountain, walking unsteadily over to the rest of Lexa's army.

'They're surrendering?' Clarke asked cautiously.

'Not quite.' Replied Emerson with a smug grin.

Clarke turned to look and Lexa again and thought she saw a flicker of emotion, but she must have been wrong.

'What did you do?' Clarke asked quietly, her heart in her throat.

'What you would have done. Saved my people.'

'Where are my people?' Clarke asked dangerously.

'I'm sorry Clarke.' Lexa said, but there was no emotion, no genuine apology, in her voice, she was just going through the motions. 'They weren't part of the deal.'


	30. Chapter 30

*Shout out to my readers from Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, all countries so close to home but one's I have to visit – hopefully I'll get there soon! Thanks so much for reading and please favourite/follow/review! Also, I'm sorry for shifting Lexa's character into such an unfeeling one, I was considering writing in a love triangle, but decided against it. I hope nobody takes offence in light of what happened in Season 3*

*Also, I completely forgot to say, but I have a twitter dedicated to The 100/Bellamy/Bellarke and I'd love it if you followed me! I follow back!*

Clarke looked into Lexa's eyes and felt cold despair wash over her.

Emerson stepped forward, and when he spoke his voice was self-satisfied. 'You made the right choice commander.'

It took everything in Clarke's power not to launch herself at the man. Instead, she made sure that all of the hurt, and betrayal, and grief that she was feeling shone in her eyes, and she was pleased to see Lexa flinch away from the sight.

Emerson slunk back inside the mountain, as Lincoln came to stand at Clarke's right hand side. 'What is this?' He said lowly, fearing that he too knew the answer already.

'The commander made a deal.'

'What about the prisoners from the Ark?'

'They'll all be killed.' Clarke answered before Lexa could, blinking away tears. 'But you don't care about that do you?' Clarke said, staring murderously at the commander.

'I made this choice with my head, not my heart. The duty to protect my people comes first.' Replied the grounder, and Clarke felt the last sliver of hope she held die.

'Don't do this.' Clarke cursed herself for begging, but she had to something, her friends were in there, Bellamy was in there.

'I'm sorry Clarke.' Intoned Lexa again coldly.

'Commander, not like this,' pleaded Lincoln, 'let us fight.'

'No, the deal is done.'

At Lexa's words, the door to the mountain was pulled closed, shutting out the rest of the light spilling out into the clearing, closing Clarke off from the rest of her friends, sealing off the only entrance.

At Lexa's orders, a grounder next to her sounded the horn, signalling their retreat and Clarke's eyes filled with hot, angry tears, watching the grounder army leave.

'You too,' Lexa said to Lincoln, 'all our people withdraw, those were the terms.'

He barely even hesitated before responding. 'They'll be slaughtered, I have to help them.'

'Take him.' Ordered Lexa in Trigedasleng and two grounders seized Lincoln. He fought them off but two more came, and two more, and eventually he was subdued. He looked up at Clarke with apology in his eyes but she shook her head. He had nothing to apologise for.

Dragging Lincoln away with her Lexa turned and walked away without another word, and Clarke stood, watching her go whilst feeling her world crumble to the ground around her.

Raven and Wick crawled to each other through the rubble of the explosion, coughing and panting. But as soon as they reached each other armed guards appeared, surrounding them and hauling them to their feet.

'Wick.'

'It's gonna be ok Raven.'

The guards marched them from the dam, back into Mount Weather and they went, without another word, their fate hanging over them heavily.

In the tunnels, Octavia stood, peering into the door, desperately waiting for Bellamy to arrive so that they could get him and the rest of their friends out of there. But before he could, they heard the sound of the horn being blown faintly.

'We're retreating.' Indra said, her expression puzzled.

'That can't be right.' Protested Octavia, equally confused.

'We have to go,' ordered Indra, 'now.'

'Indra, wait. They're still in there.'

'And our commander's out there, under attack for all we know.'

'I don't trust her.' Octavia said boldly. 'Not after Tondc, and neither should you.'

Indra's eyes narrowed. 'I gave you a direct order.'

'Please, this was the plan. If we're not here with the tone generators when they come out, reapers-'

'Plan's change.' Interrupted Indra.

'Octavia, let's go.' Pleaded a young grounder whom Octavia had been working with, but she ignored her.

'I'm not going anywhere without my brother.' She said, her voice steady.

Indra's stare darkened, and she drew a dagger from her waist, holding it against Octavia's throat in a second. 'You are no longer my second.' Indra said, and Octavia almost flinched away from the disappointment and betrayal in her eyes. She gasped as Indra pulled her dagger away, nicking her neck and drawing blood, but she didn't look away.

Jackson approached her side, 'Octavia, please, come home with us.'

She didn't even look at him, he could run away, but Bellamy needed her. 'I have no home.' She said firmly, blinking away tears.

Jackson sighed, shrugging off his rucksack, 'you'll need this' he said, dropping it on the floor lightly before turning and following Indra and the rest of the grounders and sky people.

Inside the mountain, Bellamy, Maya, Jasper and Monty burst into the harvest chamber. It was empty, and deafeningly silent, until Maya's eyes landed on the body of her father, lying in a pool of blood on the floor. He had obviously died trying to protect their friends when the guards came looking for them.

'No!' Screamed Maya, running to the body. 'No!' she dropped to her knees sobbing over the body of her father as Jasper comforted her, but Bellamy couldn't tear his eyes from the rows upon rows upon rows of hundreds of empty cages. The grounders were gone. Their hidden army had abandoned them. His heart sunk to the floor and he closed his eyes as Maya's sobs made his chest ache. His mind raced, trying to figure out what had happened, but one thought became clear - he had failed them, and now they were all going to die.

Clarke stood facing the door, her mind surprisingly calm, considering the man she loved had just been sentenced to death inside a mountain, along with at least 40 of her friends.

'Clarke, let's go,' called Miller's father as he shepherded the rest of the Ark guards away from the mountain to return to Camp Jaha, 'we'll come back with reinforcements.'

She didn't acknowledge him, knowing that they would never have time.

'Clarke?' Monroe called her now, 'Clarke, come on.'

She turned to face her, her face a stony mask. 'It's over, I'm sorry.' Monroe said softly, thinking of Bellamy, trapped inside the mountain, and how heartbroken Clarke must be.

Clarke watched her leave with others before turning back to the door, completely alone.

'It can't be over' she thought, and just like that her mind kicked in again. Her mind had done so much, saved so many lives, and come so close to taking down the mountain, she knew she could use it to save Bellamy and the others.

Octavia sat against one of the large metal skips that were propped against the side of the tunnel. They were pushed underneath metal chutes that Clarke had told her she and Anya had escaped from, that they were rubbish chutes, only for the grounders when they had drained all they could from them. Trying to shake the thoughts away Octavia felt nausea bubbling as a buzzer sounded and something dropped from the chute into the skip. Standing up warily, she peered into the chute to see the body of a young girl, covered in cuts and bruises, dripping with blood. Octavia swallowed hard as she looked at the girls face. 'Fox.'

Before she could mourn the girl, footsteps echoed from further in the tunnels, they were running. Grabbing the large knife from her waist she stepped forward defensively, gripping a tone generator in her hand, preparing to face the reapers. But it wasn't a reaper who rounded the corner.

'Octavia.'

'Clarke.'

'You stayed!' Clarke felt the closest thing to happiness she could under the circumstances.

'Of course I stayed.' Said the girl, pulling Clarke into a quick hug.

'We have to get in there.' Said Clarke, rushing to the door, but she stopped dead when she saw Fox's body in the skip.

'Why did Lexa sound the retreat?' Octavia asked, drawing Clarke's attention away from the body of another of their friends.

'She made a deal with the grounders,' Clarke said brokenly, 'she freed the grounders and then she left. Now we're on our own.'

'She betrayed us.' Octavia growled.

Clarke began hammering on the door.

'Stop!' Yelled Octavia. 'They'll know we're here!'

Clarke spun away from the door, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She grabbed the gun from her waistband and aimed it at the control panel at the side of the doors to the mountain.

'What's wrong with you?' Octavia gasped, pulling Clarke's arm down.

'I am getting through that door.' She yelled frantically. Her mind was racing and her pulse couldn't seem to catch up. Somewhere inside she knew she wasn't thinking straight but she had to see him.

'And that's your plan?' Octavia tried to calm her down. 'Bellamy's counting on you. We're all counting on you.' Clarke could see that Octavia wanted to say more, but she stopped herself. 'What about Lincoln?' She asked quietly. 'There's no way he would have gone along with this.'

'He didn't.' Clarke hesitated. 'I'm so sorry Octavia, they took him. But we're going to get him back.'

The girl nodded, blinking away tears. She had lost him so many times, she couldn't let this be the first time she didn't get him back.

Before they could say anything else the control panel next to the door beeped once and the door began to open. Instinctively the two drew their weapons, Octavia dropping in to a crouch. Clarke glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and was struck but how fearsome she looked, how strong, before she pulled her eyes back to the door. Standing there, in the doorway, was Bellamy.

Everything seemed to freeze as her eyes scanned his strong shoulders, his tousled curls, and finally, his deep eyes. He stepped into the tunnel and in seconds she had closed the gap between them, throwing herself into his arms.

'You're ok,' she gasped, her lips brushing his collarbone, her warm breath making his heart stutter, 'you're ok.' Breathing in she filled her lungs with him, it was only fair since she had already drowned in the sight of him.

Bellamy wrapped his arms around her tightly, comforted to find that she still fit perfectly in them, and dropped his head, burying his face in her hair. She was here. She was really here. Night after night in the mountain he had dreamt of her, dreams coloured with gold and blue as she whispered to him, lying safe beside him.

'Clarke.' He sighed, and the sound sent a shiver coursing down her spine.

She threaded her right hand through the curls at the back of his head and felt his shoulders relax slightly.

They stayed like that for a few more seconds, wrapped up in each other once again, before Octavia cleared her throat. They reluctantly stepped back, aware that they could have stayed like that all day.

Standing behind Bellamy were two faces that she had missed more than she thought possible.

'Clarke!' Jasper flung his arms around her, and seconds later Monty had done the same, enveloping them in a group hug.

'I'm so glad you're ok.' She whispered emotionally.

'We're fine.' Monty reassured, although his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Clarke was reminded once again of the horrors her friends had already faced, and what was still to come.

After another moment or two, Clarke's eyes found one more figure stood unsurely in the doorway, a young girl in a hazmat suit.

'Thank you.' She said to Maya sincerely, and she was rewarded with a smile. She owed her Bellamy's life, and that meant more to Clarke than she could ever express.

Turning back to Bellamy she confirmed everything he feared in a glance. They were alone. He didn't press her on what exactly had happened, the pain in her eyes was enough to dissuade him. Besides, it was clear that Lexa had abandoned them, he could find out the details later. For now, he and was going to rescue his friends with Clarke and his sister, the two most important people in his life.

'We need to go find Dante.' He said firmly and she nodded.

Turning, the six of them stepped back into the mountain, together.


	31. Chapter 31

*Shout out to my Turkish and Romanian readers! I've been to Turkey twice and the second time I spent a month travelling your beautiful country from Istanbul to Izmir, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Ankara! Also one of my flatmates is Romanian and he's such a wonderful guy – so funny – so I dedicate this chapter to Horia haha, please favourite/follow/review thank you so much!*

*Also thank you to the people who followed me I love you guys for it, I realised I didn't even put my twitter on the last chapter because I'm a fool, so congrats to those who found it on my profile! It's WildMockingbird (get it ;) ) Please follow me for lots of love in return! And please enjoy my longest chapter so far!*

They crept through the empty corridors, headed for level five where the entire of the mountain had been gathered. On the way Monty and Jasper filled Clarke in on what had been happening to them. They told her about the dorm, and about Maya and the rest of the people in the mountain who had helped them. They also told her about the friends that they had taken so far, and what happened to them. Although Clarke already knew, hearing the details first hand made bile rise in her throat, and she couldn't escape the image of Fox's body in the tunnels. With every knew piece of information she learned, Clarke became more and more determined that she would not leave this mountain without her friends.

Bellamy remained quiet for their walk, in part because he was trying to plan for what was ahead. Mostly though, it was because the feel of Clarke's small hand resting in his, the familiarity of her shoulder brushing his arm, the way his heart jumped every time she looked up at him, almost to check that he was really there, was enough to make him want to stay quiet and just enjoy the moment, now that she was back by his side.

They reached the crossroads where they decided to split up – Jaspa, Maya and Octavia would go secure Maya more oxygen for her suit, and then when they had done that, they were to find those people in the mountain who had helped them, find them suits, and take them somewhere safe. Bellamy, Clarke and Monty would go to Dante to find a way to rescue their friends and, when they had done that, they would radio Jasper and the others and plan their quick escape.

They found him in his cell, painting. Clarke found the notion chilling. How could he be so calm, whilst her people, her friends, were being tortured and killed beneath their feet? She looked around the white room reluctantly. It was identical to the one she had woken up in and Clarke found herself remembering her time in the mountain, before she willed the memories away and forced herself to focus.

Dante stood from his painting, turning when he realised that he had company. His eyes flitted from Bellamy, in his Mount Weather uniform, to Monty, his shirt stained with blood, before coming to rest on the blonde woman stood between them. Dressed in battle leathers she looked different to the last time they had met, but her eyes held the same defiance, the same strength.

'Hello Clarke.' His voice was composed, but he knew why they were there.

'Sir, we need your help again.' Bellamy said carefully.

Monty watched as Dante's eyes flickered to the camera over his door. 'It's ok,' he reassured him quickly, 'I took out the camera from the junction box in the hall - we can talk freely.'

In another circumstance Clarke would have smiled at Monty, but for now she could only marvel to herself at the incredibly smart boy next to her.

'No one's watching anyway.' Dante said, sounding disgruntled, 'thanks to you they're all on level five.'

'You're not.' Clarke said coldly, stepping towards him with her arms crossed. She refused to offer the man responsible for capturing her and her friends any sympathy. Besides, she had quickly figured out that the reason he didn't need to be on level five was because he had been given the treatment – he would be just fine when the other levels began to leak radiation soaked air.

'No, I'm not.' He repeated, his voice even colder, and Bellamy understood why Clarke had run, why she knew something was wrong. Dante made him feel on edge, like he was constantly being scrutinised. But he had their friends.

'Please,' Bellamy interrupted their stand-off, and Clarke shifted a step back at his voice, though her eyes still stayed on Dante, 'we don't have much time. We need a way to get our people out of this mountain without killing everyone.'

Dante's eyes flickered to Bellamy's and he couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two leaders. He always prided himself on his ability to read people, and these two were like a book. They were both head strong, both fiercely loyal and protective, both wanted a peaceful way out, and they were both damaged. But together, they made each other strong, even stronger than they were alone, they balanced each other out in a way that Dante was aware went deeper than just partners. And right now, they were vengeful.

He forced his eyes away from the pair, looking back to Clarke, and he knew that she understood what he would say.

'He's not going to help us.' Her words were filled with hatred. Bellamy didn't even question how she knew, instead he let his expression harden.

'You cut the power, risking the lives of everyone in this mountain, my people, even the ones who helped you.' Dante's eyes flashed dangerously as he ground the words out.

'We knew they'd be safe on level five. We made sure not to destroy the turbines so you could repair them. We're the good guys here, not you!' She cried, feeling Bellamy's hand brush her forearm, calming her.

'Tell me,' Dante's voice was calculated, and Clarke was unsettled by how much she was reminded of her and Lexa's last conversation, 'if we released your people, and theirs, what would have happened to mine?'

Bellamy saw the way Clarke's shoulders stiffened and his heart dropped. The fact was she didn't know what would happen to his people. In truth, most of his soldiers would die, she couldn't bring herself to feel remorseful of that, but she also had no way of telling how many innocent people would have died at the hands of the grounders who had proven themselves time and time again to be a blood thirsty people. Maybe Lexa truly did strive to move her people away from unnecessary bloodshed, but for now she had a long way to go. Clarke couldn't think about the innocent people of the mountain being killed, she had to trust Octavia and Jasper.

She turned, her eyes brushing Bellamy's briefly, before they found Monty.

Clarke was stuck by how beaten the boy looked, and she felt her heart ache for him. She looked at him, really looked at him, and found she had to remind herself that Monty was only sixteen. His shirt was stained with blood and his shoulders were slumped, his eyes weary. She could hardly imagine the horrors that he had been forced to endure in the past weeks, but she forced herself to be strong, just for a while longer.

'Can you get us into the command centre? We need to see what's happening on level five.'

'No problem.' Monty said, his voice quietly determined, and Clarke vowed that if he could do it, so could she.

Bellamy watched the exchange, following Clarke's train of thought so that when she turned to nod at him, to tell him that they should go, he was already grabbing hold of Dante's arm.

'Let's go, you're gonna help us whether you like it or not.' He said lowly.

On level five, Jasper, Maya and Octavia crept stealthily through a corridor that Jasper knew would lead towards the mess hall, where the inhabitants of the mountain were gathered. All except for those who were downstairs, killing their friends, he thought bitterly before straightening his shoulders and following the instructions Maya was giving them. Jasper gripped the cold metal of the rifle tighter in his hands and glanced at Octavia, her hand clenched tightly on a wicked looking sword. He turned back to Maya and smiled, praying that they wouldn't encounter any guards.

Miraculously they made it to the large room where the mountain men stored the hazmat suits. Jasper didn't know how large the guard was, but there were almost 50 suits hanging on two of the walls, and stacked by a third wall were crates and crates of oxygen. Turning, he spied a large trolley, obviously used for transporting the crates, and a plan began to form in his mind.

Clarke marvelled silently at the man in front of her as she walked behind him and Dante to the control centre. He knew so much about her, knew her better than anyone on earth, literally, but she realised quite suddenly that they knew very little about each other's lives on the Ark. They had only had a few encounters before Clarke had been placed in solitary, and those had hardly gone well. Well, she argued with herself, their first meeting had. She blushed as her mind wandered back to that day in the medical station, almost two years ago.

She was snapped out her daydream by Bellamy's gravelly voice. 'Why aren't you on level five?' He was asking Dante.

'After what I've done they can be free, I can't. I bare it so they don't have to.' He said tiredly, and Clarke watched as Bellamy pieced together what he was saying.

'It wasn't Cage.' Bellamy said slowly, and Clarke realised that he had figured out what had happened outside the mountain. She felt a fresh wave of anger course through her again; anger and guilt. 'It was your idea to make the deal with the grounders.'

Dante nodded once.

They came to a halt outside the command centre and Bellamy looked past him to Clarke and saw that her expression mirrored his own. They mulled over what to do with the information whilst Monty typed into the control panel next to the door – they had the man who had effectively sentenced their people to die in their hands.

'We're in.' Monty's voice interrupted their silent discussion and they slipped through the door into the dark and empty control centre. The young boy dropped onto a chair in front of one of the computers and immediately started typing. Seconds later a dozen screens on one wall came to life, illuminating the room.

Bellamy found his eyes drawn to a large screen in the middle, and found himself fighting nausea when he recognised it as the room that he had seen Dr Singh in from the vent. The room he had watched her drill into the bone marrow of an innocent boy, just because he had the misfortune of being born in space. He clenched his fists as he saw their friends chained up and someone lying on a bed in the middle of the room.

'Is that Raven?' He asked, already knowing the answer. Clarke nodded, swallowing hard as well.

Monty adjusted the camera to rotate around the room and Clarke felt her heart stop. 'Mom?' She breathed and Bellamy watched as her eyes became furiously cold.

He stepped forward, how had they gotten Abby – she had stayed behind at Camp Jaha? Looking closer he saw that Kane, Miller's dad and Monroe had all been captured and chained up, as well as the others who were already in the mountain. He stepped forward again until Clarke's back rested against his chest and he felt her lean into him as he brushed his thumb lightly against her wrist. They stood for a moment, strengthening the other whilst they decided what to do, fighting their rising panic.

Bellamy glanced around the room before he grabbed a radio lying next to him and spun to Dante. 'Tell them to stop, now.' He barked, holding out the radio, but Dante merely glanced at the radio before looking back at him.

'I won't do that.' He said coldly, and Clarke almost flinched at the fury on Bellamy's face, but she was thinking. She glanced from the screens, to Dante, and back again. Bellamy watched as the idea came together in her head, and she walked towards him, plucking the radio from his hand and bringing it up to her face.

'Carl Emerson, Mount Weather Security Detail, come in.' She said calmly.

'Who is this?' He responded after a moment.

'You know who it is. Give the radio to the president.'

Bellamy was impressed by the calm in Clarke's voice. He tightened his grip on Dante's arm as he watched the screen that showed Emerson walking towards Cage Wallace and handing him the radio.

'This is President Wallace.' Another voice came through the radio now.

'I have your father,' Clarke's voice was steady, and didn't betray the conflict that was written on her face, 'if you don't let my people go, I will kill him.'

Cage face on the screen looked shocked for a moment, before he brought the radio closer to his mouth. 'How do I know you have him?'

Clarke almost smiled again, she had predicted this. Wordlessly she held the radio to Dante's face and clicked the button.

'Stay the course Cage.' Wallace said urgently before Clarke pulled the radio away again. Looking at the screen she was pleased to see Cage's shock had returned, and now it was mingled with fear.

'You won't do it.' He said, but he sounded unsure.

'He doesn't know her very well' thought Bellamy dryly, Clarke would do anything to protect the people she loved.

'You don't know me very well.' She said into the radio and then Bellamy did smirk. 'This ends now.' She narrowed her eyes. 'Release my people.'

'I can't do that.' Cage said carefully.

'It would mean the end of our people.' Dante said, his voice low, and Bellamy tightened his grip on his arm.

Clarke spun round, tugging a hand gun out from her armour. In one fluid movement it was cocked and aimed at Dante's head.

It had taken them longer that he had hoped, but they had done it, he thought as he winced at the pain in his arms and shoulders. They had shifted two of the huge crates onto the trolley, along with forty of the suits. Panting, Jasper caught Maya's eye and smiled. She had a new oxygen tank, one that would last 10 hours, and for the first time that day, he felt hope blossom in his chest.

'We need to move.' Octavia said quietly, pulling one of the remaining suits off the wall and stepping into it. 'This should buy us some more time.'

Japer nodded and shrugged into a suit as well. When they were finished, they each grabbed a handle on the trolley, and Maya began to push it from behind. It was a slow process, but finally they made it back down to level four by taking a long, convoluted route that kept them away from the mess hall. Jasper knew Monty and now that he was with Clarke and Bellamy he had no doubt that he would have taken down the cameras by now. Now, they just had to wait to hear from them. Jasper ran his hand along the radio tucked into his belt but he knew he shouldn't radio them – the mountain men couldn't find out that they were taking either of their people to safety, and he didn't know who Bellamy, Clarke and Monty might be with. Still, he felt the hope spread further across his chest as he glanced back down at Maya for the hundredth time, his face stretching into a wide grin through his mask.

Bellamy watched Clarke cautiously before stepping away from Dante. 'Clarke, we need him.'

'And I need his son to believe me.' She said, her voice unwavering.

Bellamy closed his eyes tightly to ground himself before they found Clarke again. Suddenly he was taken back to what he had said to Finn so many weeks ago, as he held a grounder scout at gunpoint. _'There are some lines you can't uncross.'_ He didn't want this to be a line for Clarke. He knew she was hurting, he could read every emotion she was feeling right now, but he couldn't let her do this. He thought back again, to the moment Clarke had slid the knife into Finn, how much that had affected Clarke, how hard it had been.

But they had gotten through it. He had gotten her through it. Bellamy's mind was made up. He trusted Clarke more than he thought was possible, and if she believed that this was what she needed to do for their friends then he would let her, and he would be there afterwards, no matter what.

Clarke watched as a silent war raged within Bellamy. She knew that he wanted to protect her from this, that he didn't want her to have more blood on her hands, but she also knew that he would understand that it was better that it was Dante's blood than the blood of all their friends and family.

He nodded at her and she lifted the radio to her mouth once more. 'Don't make me do this.' She said, her voice carefully free of emotion, and the room fell heavy and silent as all four of them waited for Cage's response, watching the screen once more.

Finally, the radio in her hand crackled again. 'I'll take care of our people dad.' Cage said, his face was calm but his voice betrayed his fear. Clarke pushed away her sympathy. This man was sacrificing his father in order to claim the lives of everyone she had.

'None of us have a choice, Clarke.' Dante's voice was almost soothing, but it made Clarke's skin crawl.

Making sure she had clicked the transmit button on the radio Clarke spoke sadly. 'I didn't want this.'

'Neither did I.' Replied Dante.

Bellamy's eyes didn't leave Clarke as she pulled the trigger, and his heart ached at the tears in her eyes.

Turning, Bellamy watched on the screen as Cage flinched, the sound of a gunshot echoing around the small room, reaching Cage's ears through the radio he held. Bellamy watched his face for the recognition that his father was dead, but he saw nothing, just cold detachment.

As Dante took his last breath Bellamy crossed the floor to where Clarke stood motionless. He pressed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest as he gently took the gun from her hand. He felt her hands shaking as they came up to grip his back and he pressed a kiss to her temple. He could at least give her this, a moment where she didn't have to be strong and fearless, a moment where she could show her emotions without judgement.

Clarke felt two tears spill down her cheeks as Bellamy's fingers brushed hers, pulling the gun from her hand. She let her defences come down as she stood in his arms and the weight of her actions washed over her. She had Cage's attention now, but at what cost? Another name to add to her list of kills. She shuddered slightly and felt Bellamy tighten her grip.

Soon, Bellamy felt Clarke take a deep breath in and he knew that she was done for now, so he released her as she stepped back. Her eyes were strong and determined once more, but Bellamy's heart ached knowing that she was still hurting, that she had had to wear this mask for so long now.

'We're almost done, Princess.' He said softly and Clarke nodded, feeling Bellamy's words wash over her. He was right, they were so close.

She held up the radio once more, feeling determination flooding her veins - Clarke encouraged it, she let her anger and pain fill her words. 'Listen to me very carefully. I will not stop until my people are free, if you don't let them go I will irradiate level five.' Bellamy and Clarke watched, side by side, on the screen as Cage leant against the nearest wall at her words. 'Cage, listen to me, I don't want anyone else to die - stop the drilling, and we can talk. There must be a way to get us all out of this.'

Bellamy felt strangely reassured to hear those words. Not that he doubted her exactly, but after seeing how drastically Finn had changed, he couldn't help but worry that Clarke would become equally blinded, but with vengeance. He wouldn't deny that he stopped thinking logically when the people he loved were in danger, so it was a relief to be proven wrong, to find that Clarke was still, well, Clarke.

He looked at Clarke as he thought, as he watched, her face shifted and he saw worry in her eyes as she looked at one of the screens.

'Emerson's coming for us.'

'They deactivated my key card,' Bellamy said thoughtfully, turning to Monty who had been standing off to one side, 'can you do that to his?'

Monty nodded immediately, stepping towards the nearest computer. 'That one's easy.'

Offering him a small smile, Bellamy turned back to the screens. Clarke saw him frown. 'Where's he going?' She followed his eyes and saw Cage walking out of the mess hall. They tracked him through the mountain using the camera until it became clear that he was headed for where they were keeping their friends.

Jasper waited impatiently in a storage room with a small group of people in hazmat suits. He recognised a few of their faces from when Maya's father was organising their hiding places - an older couple, the school teacher's boyfriend, the man with the kind smile. They were the people who turned against Cage, risking their lives, and Jasper was determined to save theirs in return. He blinked hard against the threat of tears that always came when he thought of the couple who had hidden him and Maya, and were killed by the guards because of it.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention and he pushed off from the wall he was leaning against as Octavia returned with six more people.

'Quickly, put the suits on, but don't use the oxygen until you need it.' She said, nodding at Jasper in greeting. The six with her, two men and four women, did as they were told without question, smiling gratefully at Jasper and Octavia, but he was too distracted to notice. Maya had gone to collect the biggest group of all – the children – and she wasn't back yet. Everyone was on level five, but Cage had kept the children separate for some reason, Jasper wasn't complaining – it made his job easier.

Minutes ticked by like hours and even Octavia began to get anxious. She came and stood by Jasper, resting her back against the wall he had returned to.

'She's going to be fine.' She said, in that infuriatingly stubborn Blake way that made everything that came out of their mouth sound like the truth.

'How do you know? What if they found her? What if she's downstairs with the others right now? What if I let her go out there on her own and now she's in danger?' His voice got more and more panicked as he spoke until Octavia gripped his forearm comfortingly.

'I know she's going to be fine because she's got you to come back to.' Octavia said, looking up at him and just like that Jasper felt his heart rate slow again. She was right. Maya was coming back to him because he had too much to show her, to tell her, to do with her. She had to come.

Octavia watched Jasper physically relax and she couldn't help but smile affectionately. 'You really like her huh?'

Jasper smiled bashfully, a hint of red staining his cheeks, and that was the only answer Octavia needed. It was the same way she knew she looked at Lincoln, and the same way Bell looked at Clarke.

As if by magic, the sound of footsteps reached the two of them and they jumped upright again, drawing their weapons just in case, but after a few more seconds Jasper heard the sound of whispered children's voices and he knew that Maya had done it. She appeared at the door and Jasper pulled her into his arms before she even knew what was happening. She hugged him back for a few seconds before pulling away shyly.

They got the children into their hazmat suits as well before stepping back, grinning slightly. They had done it, it was up to Clarke, Bellamy and Monty to rescue the rest of their friends now.


	32. Chapter 32

*Shout out to everyone who followed me on twitter! Feel free to join the hype and I'll shower you with love and retweets! As well as shamelessly plugging my twitter, I would also love it if you guys could keep on favouriting/following/reviewing this story, it's almost over and you guys are motivating me so much to write! Thank you so much and I'm sorry if this chapter messes with your hearts a little bit!*

Clarke turned to where Monty sat at one of the computers in the control panel. He had been typing furiously, bent over the keyboard, trying to learn the system in the limited time that they had. Her expression was grim having watched Cage enter the room holding their friends on one of the screens. 'Can you do it Monty?' She asked, her voice desperate. 'Can you irradiate level five?'

Monty blinked but quickly recovered. He nodded, not trusting his voice to carry the words that would turn him into a killer.

Clarke could feel Bellamy looking at her so she turned back to him a little unwillingly, knowing what he would say, how he would try to protect her.

'Clarke,' he started, his voice serious, 'just hold on a second, we need to think about this.' He looked at her pleadingly, begging her not to make this decision, but deep down even he knew that they were running out of options. Cage wasn't giving up their people peacefully, no matter how many times they asked him to, and the longer they waited the more of their friends would die, and he couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't. Those kids depended on him, and they'd accepted him despite all his flaws, he wasn't about to let them down now – not after coming so far.

A loud banging on the command centre door interrupted his train of thought. 'Emerson's outside.' Clarke muttered, but he didn't look, taking her word for it unquestioningly.

It came down to him having to decide whether he could let Clarke lose a bit more of herself and irradiate a level full of people, or whether he could let their friends die, in which case Clarke would lose even more of herself, and there would be less people there to pick her up afterwards. 'Dante was right' he thought bitterly, 'we don't have a choice.'

'We have to trust that Jasper, Octavia and Maya got enough of the innocent people somewhere safe.' Clarke's voice wavered with emotion.

'And if they haven't?' Bellamy asked lowly.

'Then please, give me a better idea.' Her words were harsh but they both knew that it was only because she was scared, although you'd never tell, looking at his brave princess.

Bellamy turned to look back at the screen, begging his brain to give him something, anything, but all he could do was keep going round in circles. This was about to be one the biggest gambles they would ever take. He heard Clarke pick up the radio from the table again. 'Jasper, come in.'

There was a pause. Then, 'Clarke, thank god, are you ok?'

'We're fine Jasper, we don't have long,' there was another round of banging on the door as she spoke, 'tell me, how many people do you have with you?'

Another pause whilst Jasper counted and then the radio crackled once more. 'Eighteen children and twenty-one adults.'

Clarke allowed a small amount of relief to fill her, they had done something at least. At the last minute she lifted the radio again. 'Is Octavia still with you?'

'Yeah she's fine.' Octavia's voice came on the line and Bellamy smiled briefly, his heart lifting at the thought of the two most important people in his life looking out for each other.

'Good job.' Clarke said quietly before turning the radio off again.

Raven still lay on the table and even on the slightly blurry screen they could see she was struggling to stay conscious whilst a non-descript man in a bloodstained white lab coat drilled into her thigh. As they watched, Cage stepped into the room and barked orders, waving his arm around, before the 'doctor', if you could even call him that, was unstrapping Raven and pushing her aside, towards some other guards. Then he was releasing Abby Griffin from the handcuffs that held her to the wall, and Bellamy felt himself go cold as Clarke's mother took Raven's place.

Clarke felt ice in her veins as she watched her mother being strapped to the bed under Cage's instructions. 'What have I done?' She breathed, and Bellamy was by her side in an instant. But before he could utter a word there was furious banging on the door to the command centre once more. Bellamy's eyes shot to the screens, searching until they found the right one. Emerson stood outside the door again, still armed with a rifle, but now he had explosives with him as well.

They were out of time.

Cage would kill every single one of their people inside the mountain no matter what, but he wouldn't stand by and let Clarke watch Abby die. He wouldn't let Octavia and the others get captured. He wouldn't let everybody he knew and everybody he loved die. He knew what they had to do. 'Clarke,' she dragged her eyes from the screen and Bellamy's heart ached at the fear he saw in them, 'if we do this, there is no going back.'

She blinked and her eyes were determined once more. Suddenly Monty's rapid tapping that had been the backdrop to all over this silenced.

'Why are you stopping?' Clarke asked him desperately.

'Because I did it. All we have to do is pull this.' Monty pointed to a dull looking metal lever next to him with shaking fingers. 'Hatches and vents will open and the scrub is reversed, pulling in outside air.'

Clarke took a deep breath and time stood still. If she didn't do this then everybody she loved – Bellamy, her mother, Octavia, Monty, Jasper, Harper, Miller, Monroe, and countless other friends – they would all die, along with her, and it would be her fault. But if she did do this, then hundreds of deaths would be on conscious, even with the people that Jasper, Octavia and Maya had managed to move from the mess hall.

Bellamy's sudden movement drew her focus again as he lifted his handgun up. 'He's gonna blow the door.' He said quickly, and Clarke's eyes found Emerson on the screen and saw that Bellamy was right, whilst she had been distracted Emerson had set up explosives around the door to the command centre.

It was Monty who spoke first. 'Clarke, we're out of time.' She turned numbly to meet his eyes and she saw an unwavering acceptance in them. He trusted her and Bellamy to make the right decision, and to him that meant rescuing their friends from the people responsible for capturing, torturing and killing them. And he was right – they were out of time. Her people were dying, Emerson was preparing to blow the door down in order to get into the command centre and kill them.

She distantly heard Bellamy whisper 'my sister, my responsibility' to himself, and just like that the few doubts she had left vanished. Octavia. She couldn't let Bellamy lose Octavia, she wouldn't.

Reaching for the lever was like walking up to Finn in the grounder camp all over again. She knew that she was ultimately making the right decision for her people, but still she felt her heart break just a little bit more under the knowledge that she was commanding death. The metal was cold under her fingers and she shuddered unconsciously, but before she could make another movement a large, warm, slightly calloused hand closed over hers. She looked up into Bellamy's dark brown eyes and saw the understanding in them. She saw every emotion she was feeling mirrored in him and she had to close her eyes to stop tears from falling down her face. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought that she had cried too much today.

His fingers squeezed hers lightly. 'Together' he said softly, his voice rough and raw, and Clarke realised that she would truly never love anyone else the way she loved him.

They pulled the lever towards them and for a moment nothing happened. They glanced at each other, unsure, but then a groaning, creaking sound reached their ears, even with them buried so deep inside the mountain, and they knew that the huge vents responsible for keeping the irradiated air out were reversing, sucking it in instead.

Clarke felt an overwhelming mixture of relief and horror as she turned to the screens, feeling Bellamy's arm slip around her back, pulling her against his side – comforting him as much as it was comforting her. Reluctantly, they watched the results of their actions, Clarke's eyes filled with unshed tears. In the room where their friends were held, they watched as the guards dropped to the floor, gasping for breath as their skin broke out in blisters. In the mess hall, they watched as the people realised something was wrong and began to claw at their throats and at their faces as the radiation took effect.

Back on the first screen Cage turned to look at the camera, knowing that Clarke and Bellamy would be watching. His face was furious as he stood above his dying guards, but Clarke barely glanced at him, instead she looked at the image of her mother on the screen and she willed her to hang on for a few more minutes, just until they could reach her.

On another screen they watched as Emerson fled from outside the room, finally, and Clarke tugged on Bellamy's sleeve, indicating for them to leave the control room behind and focus on finding their friends. With one last look at the screens which showed every last person that they had killed, they headed to the door, together with Monty.

'Let's go get our people.' Clarke said softly, and Bellamy and Monty nodded solemnly.

Jasper, Octavia and Maya stood with the rest of the suited mountain men when the alarms began to sound.

'It signals a radiation leak.' Maya explained, her voice both excited and regretful.

The rest of the room connected their oxygen tanks to their suits so they could breathe, before looking to Jasper and Octavia for instruction. Turning to Octavia, Jasper saw the fire in her eyes, seeing her itching to leave, and he knew what she had to do. He nodded once and she turned immediately, leaving the room and heading for where their friends were held. Even though he hadn't heard anything over the radio from Clarke since their last conversation he reasoned that this counted as a sign. He and Maya would stay with the people who had helped them until Octavia came back for them, preferably with Clarke, Bellamy and Monty too. Watching Octavia disappear into the corridor Jasper knew that his part was done for the time being, now he had to make sure that the people with him stayed safe until they could rejoin his friends and they could finally go home.

Octavia burst into the room, immediately wrinkling her face at the nauseating smell of blood and sweat that filled the room. Forcing herself not to look at the dead body of yet another young boy that was lying in the corner of the room, she turned her attention to the nearest person to her – Kane.

'Get the keys from the guards.' He urged.

Within minutes she had freed everyone from the handcuffs that held them against the walls and together with Kane she was helping Abby up from the bed she was strapped to.

Clarke and Bellamy walked slowly through the mountain, Monty trailing behind. They knew they would have to face it eventually, so they chose to walk through the mess hall to get to their friends. As they neared the doorway Clarke found her fingers entwined with Bellamy's and she gripped them tighter desperately grateful. They walked through the room together, taking in the hundred or so bodies that lay scattered around, slumped over unfinished food, lying on the ground next to the grand piano in the corner, curled around each other, desperate to protect friends and loved ones from the toxic air. Despite the knowledge that these people had no qualms with draining grounders, and eventually her own people, in order to survive, Clarke couldn't fight the rising disparaging guilt that racked her body. She was a mass murderer, there was no way around it.

As though he sensed her thoughts, and honestly she wouldn't be surprised, Bellamy squeezed her hand. 'We had no choice.' He said lowly, his voice gravelly, and she knew that he understood because he was fighting the same feelings.

The rest of the walk through the mountain was a blur, a distant, silent blur, and before she knew it, Clarke was standing just inside the entrance to the room where their friends were held prisoner. The scene in front of her was different to the one she was expecting, for everyone was free from their handcuffs already, but then she saw Octavia and everything made sense. Groups of teenagers stood together, holding each other, comforting each other. Raven lay in Wick's arms, Miller hugged his dad tightly, and in the centre of the room her mother was sat on the bed. Clarke's legs moved to her automatically. She threw her arms around her and was relieved when her mother squeezed back weakly.

'I tried,' Clarke said, her voice breaking, 'I tried to be the good guy.'

Bellamy's heart dropped and he felt his blood chill at the words he didn't think he was supposed to hear, and the broken way she spoke them. She was hurting, and there was nothing he could about it for now. The thought almost killed him.

'Maybe there are no good guys.' Whispered Abby, and he wanted to scream. Clarke was the good guy. She was the best person he knew and being around her made him want to be a better person. Hell, it was because of her that he was still here. But he stayed silent, knowing that these were thoughts for Clarke, and Clarke alone, to be whispered in the early hours of morning, to brush against tears and to stitch up wounds that no one else could see. So he stayed silent, and he watched the woman he loved cry in her mother's arms, and he knew that later, she would cry in his arms, and then he would whisper his every thought to her.

A blur of brown snagged his attention and he felt relief flood his body as arms wrapped tightly around him. 'Octavia.' He breathed. Of course his fierce little sister would have got here first, would have freed the rest of the 100. Of course. He held her tightly for a few more moments before letting her step back from him. He took her in, so strong and fierce, and he couldn't help but reach out and tuck a long strand of hair behind her ear. 'I'm so proud of you little sister'. He whispered.

'And I'm so proud of you big brother.' She whispered back. 'We did it.' Her voice was free of the guilt and regret that he knew his would hold, so he stayed quiet once more, merely nodding sadly instead.

Before Octavia could do anything to wipe the sadness from his face, Kane stood in front of him.

'You did good.' He said assuredly, a hand gripping Bellamy's shoulder, and he wished that he could agree with the man in front of him, staring so clearly at him. 'Let's get these people home.'

'Yes sir.' Bellamy replied and for the first time since they had pulled that lever, Bellamy felt the magnitude of what they had done wash over him. They had saved their friends, him and Clarke, together, and they would deal with what came next, together.


	33. Chapter 33

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It didn't take long to get everyone out of the room and within minutes they were making their way through the mountain, led by Octavia, Bellamy and Clarke. Bellamy glanced down at his fierce little sister as she took them to where Jasper and Maya were and he couldn't help but feel pride warm his chest, pushing through the pain and the guilt that was pressing down on him. He felt Clarke's hand slip into his and he turned his head to the other side to look down at the other fierce woman in his life, feeling his pride only grow.

Jasper's head lifted at the sounds of footsteps once more, and he knew that they had done it, before he even saw Clarke's solemn face appear in the doorway, flanked by the Blakes. He turned to Maya with a small smile, knowing how conflicted she must feel. She had helped save a lot of lives today, but she had lost even more, including her father. He wrapped his long arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, feeling her warmth even through her suit.

The rest of the sky people gathered inside and around the room, their expressions ranging from confused to outraged at the sight of the two dozen mountain men (and children). Bellamy recognised the mass unease but when he turned to her, Clarke was already stepping into the middle of the room.

'We will explain everything when we get back to camp, but for now you will just have to trust me and Bellamy and know that these people are not a threat to us.' Her voice was firm and dared anyone to question her. The room remained silent.

Her word was enough for the original members of the 100, who knew that every decision that their leaders made was for them and their safety, no matter the cost. Besides, they were only alive right now because of them, how could they argue their decision?

Bellamy caught a few people's eyes – Miller, Monroe, Raven – and he knew that they had accepted Clarke's words without question, he just hoped that it would be enough to keep the adults in line as well. He moved to stand next to Clarke.

'We don't have much time.' His words reverberated around the room. 'It's a long walk back to camp and these oxygen tanks only have about 9 hours in them so we have to move, now.' Bellamy's voice was commanding and immediately people began to file out of the room again, parting in the corridor to allow Bellamy and Clarke to retake their position at the front of the group. Nodding to each other they lead their people, and the people from the mountain who had kept them alive, safely out of the mountain and back to Camp Jaha. Nobody questioned what had happened to the rest of the people inside the mountain, presumably the sight of what had happened to the armed and uniformed men guarding them was enough to allow them to piece it together, and for that Clarke was grateful. For now, she could focus on keeping everyone alive and getting them home, it was later, when she had nothing to distract her and she would have to face everything, that she was worried about.

The walk was long and arduous. They were poorly equipped for a trek and many of their people were injured. But determination was discernible everywhere Bellamy looked; in the set of Jasper's shoulders where he walked, hand in hand with Maya, in Octavia's eyes as she paced the rear of the group, always on the lookout for more danger. It was in the way Wick carried Raven, and in the way she held her head up proudly, despite both her injured leg, and the fresh wounds marking her body. They would make it home, he knew it. He turned to look at Clarke and saw that she was the most determined of them all. He knew that she would get them home no matter what, otherwise everything they did inside the mountain was for nothing.

During the walk Bellamy and Clarke slowly explained everything to Kane and Abby, who had been placed on a make shift stretcher at the start of their trek, and was being carried by two Ark guards who had been captured along with her. They skimmed over their time in the command centre, focusing instead on the rescue of the people who had helped them. Abby understood what her daughter wanted and she promised to begin work on voluntary bone marrow transplants, to allow those who had risked their lives going against Cage to be able to live on the ground once more, without anyone having to die.

Clarke sigh quietly. 'That was all we wanted.' She said to Bellamy quietly.

'We tried,' he murmured back, 'Cage made his decision.'

A commotion spread through the back of the group and Bellamy whirled round, his gun already gripped in his hand before he felt Clarke's hand grip his forearm. Lincoln had emerged from the trees and was lifting Octavia off the ground, gripping her tightly to him as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, burying her face into his neck. They would find out what had happened to him later, but for now he was all Octavia's.

Maybe it was because of Lexa's betrayal, or maybe just because they got lucky, but their group didn't encounter a single grounder and, after hours of walking, the exhausted group finally reached Camp Jaha.

'Open the gates.' Shouted Bellamy, and seconds later the sound of grinding metal reached their ears as the gate slid open.

Bellamy and Clarke halted just outside of the gates, allowing their people to file into the camp. Abby and Kane went straight for the medical centre, instructing the guards to move the mountain men inside the airlock chamber until they could begin the transplants. Jackson rushed to Abby's side and took her hand, the one that wasn't gripping Kane's. As word spread people began pouring out of the buildings inside the camp, rushing towards their friends and family. Bellamy watched as Miller walked past him, his dad's arm gripped around his shoulders, and a small smile lifted his lips. Octavia and Lincoln walked past next, both offering him a smile and a nod before turning back to each other. Lincoln's eyes were so full of love Bellamy couldn't help but wonder if that was how he looked at Clarke, and as he glanced at the woman next to him, he knew it was. Harper, Monroe, Wick and Raven, his friends filled past him, their bodies exhausted, their faces weary, but each glanced up at him gratefully as they stepped through the gate, finally home.

Jasper and Maya came next, also hand in hand. She had stayed with him the whole journey, instead of with the rest of the people in suits, and Bellamy knew that Jasper would be the first to volunteer bone marrow. They smiled at him but he was surprised when Jasper pulled him into a tight hug. 'Thank you.' He murmured quietly and Bellamy squeezed his shoulders in response. Maya was next, wrapping her arms around his neck as he stooped down to hug her back.

When he stepped back he saw Jasper wrapped around Clarke and he smiled fondly at the top of her head, just visible against the tall boy's chest. He released her finally and Maya stepped in front of her hesitantly. 'Thank you.' Maya said quietly, looking up at Jasper before hugging Clarke tightly.

'Thank you.' Clarke replied and she looked over Maya's shoulder, her eyes locking with Bellamy's.

After a moment the two girls stepped apart and Jasper reclaimed Maya's hand, tugging her into the camp, talking excitedly as they went.

Finally, Monty was the only person left outside the camp. Clarke looked him over, noting how his shoulders hunched in guilt, how tired and sad he looked. That was her fault, she had made him hack into Mount Weather. She walked a few steps towards him and pulled the young boy into a hug, and though Bellamy couldn't hear what she was whispering to him, it must have worked because Monty's shoulders relaxed before he gripped Clarke tighter. After a minute or so he pulled away from her a little and Clarke reached a hand out to brush the boy's hair from his eyes fondly with a small smile. She nodded her head towards camp and Monty smiled ruefully before stepping towards Bellamy.

With his usual shyness, Monty stopped in front of him, wanting to do something, but unsure what. Bellamy found his arm stretching out before he realised and he placed a firm hand on Monty's shoulder, consoling him. They didn't speak, but it was all Monty needed. He breathed out, relieved and comforted, before turning and walking into camp, leaving Clarke and Bellamy alone outside the walls.

He walked to stand next to her, their shoulders brushing together once and Clarke felt the familiar tingle that his touch always left behind.

'I think we deserve a drink' He said dryly, his voice soft, as he turned to look down at her, but something in her eyes worried him. 'We'll get through this.' He said softly and they both looked over the camp mournfully.

Clarke couldn't face him, he would see right through her, he always did. 'I don't think I can go in.' Her voice broke and he turned back to look at her, his eyes bottomless.

'Clarke, if you need forgiveness, I'll give that to you.' Her eyes snapped up to his before she could help it and she regretted it immediately, his eyes were shining with tears, but they burnt her like fire. 'You're forgiven.' Her eyes filled with tears again at his pain and she had to look away. Those were the words she'd said to him all those months ago, before she let herself fall in love with him, before they were attacked, before the mountain, before everything.

Her heart ached and yet again she was struck by how accurate the words 'broken hearted' were. Every part of the doctor inside of her knew that it was impossible. But when she closed her eyes she felt her heart fall to pieces. Leaving him would kill her, but didn't she deserve that?

'Please come inside.' Bellamy begged, and Clarke felt the first tear slip down her face.

'Seeing their faces every day is just going to remind of what I did to get them here.' She tried to explain.

'What we did.' Bellamy said impatiently, taking her face in his hands. 'You don't have to do this alone, I won't let you.' She closed her eyes as his thumb brushed against her cheekbone lightly. She thought back to what Dante had said to them outside the command centre. _'I bare it, so they don't have to.'_

'We killed so many Bellamy.'

'We saved so many too.' His voice was gentle but urgent. 'Please Clarke, come home with me.'

She felt Bellamy step closer to her, felt the heat from his body before he even touched her, and her body ached. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and her knees weakened. She longed to fall into his arms, to let him hold her, but guilt kept her from him.

Bellamy watched, his heart in a vice, as a battle raged inside of her. But he knew one thing for certain - whatever she chose, he would be by her side. He stepped closer and slowly pressed his lips to her forehead, willing her to let him do this, to let him be there for her.

When they had arrived on the ground, before they had even stepped out of the dropship, he had two priorities, the first being Octavia, and the second being 'whatever the hell he wanted.' He didn't care about leadership other than to use it for his own gain, he didn't care about the people around him, he wasn't one of them. But then she had come to him, her eyes flashing dangerously, warning him that only one of them was scared, and everything had changed. Since then he found himself risking his life over and over again to rescue and protect his friends and the people who looked up to him. He didn't think twice before volunteering to go into the mountain, and he would do it all again for the woman in front of him. She had done this; she had saved him. Now it was his turn to save her.

For the longest time they stayed like that, his lips pressed to her forehead, his nose buried in her hair, waiting for her, before he felt her arms come up and grip his sides. She let out a shuddering breath before falling into him, and Bellamy felt like he could finally breathe again. His arms wrapped around her as they sank to the floor and she wept into his shoulder as he knelt down, pulling her into him. Closing his eyes Bellamy felt tears slide down his own face but he did nothing to brush them aside, instead he pulled Clarke tighter against his chest, feeling her tears dampen his shirt.

'Okay.' She whispered.

If you asked either of them, they couldn't tell you how long they stayed like that, it could have been hours. But finally, Clarke's tears slowed, and when she straightened up to look Bellamy in the eye, he knew that she had come to terms with what she had done, and that she wasn't going anywhere. He pressed his lips to hers softly over and over again until she kissed him back, deepened his kisses. She pulling him closer to her, begging him to stay, to forgive her, to love her, and he responded in kind.

When they finally walked into camp they did so hand in hand, side by side, together. And the first night, when they woke each other from their nightmares, they comforted each other, together. At the first chance to volunteer bone marrow they did so, together. And in the days that followed more and more of the mountain men joined them on the ground, and they never tired of seeing the wonder on their faces, mirroring their own faces when they had stepped off of the drop ship that first day.

And three years later, as they stood in front of all of their friends and family, exchanging rings and vows and kisses, they knew that they were exactly where they were supposed to be – together.


End file.
